Encoding a magnetic stripe of a card with data of multiple cards

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for encoding a magnetic stripe area of a magnetic stripe card with account data from multiple cards are disclosed. The magnetic stripe card (“the card”) can be associated with account data from multiple cards, such as account data from a driver&#39;s license and from various payment cards, such as a credit card, a debit card, and a pre-paid gift card. Location information indicating the location of the card can be obtained, and account data for the multiple cards associated with the card can be selected based on a criterion, such as based on the location information. The card includes a magnetic stripe emulator, and the emulator is encoded with account data of the multiple cards, such that with a single swipe of the card through a card reader, the card reader can read the account data of the multiple cards from the magnetic stripe area.

BACKGROUND

Consumers today use many types of cards, such as payment cards (e.g.,credit cards, debit cards, prepaid gift cards, etc.), loyalty cards,library cards, identification cards, etc., some of which are used tomake purchases. Consumers also carry other objects to make purchases,such as a smart phone with a digital wallet. Some consumers findcarrying such an array of cards and payment objects inconvenient andburdensome. For example, all these multiple cards may add to anoverstuffed wallet or purse making it difficult to find a particularcard. Consequently, when making a purchase, the consumer may pick thefirst payment card that he finds to pay for a purchase. In retrospect,the first found card may not be the best choice, such as when theconsumer pays for a purchase using a credit card when he has a pre-paidgift card that he can use. Further, some transactions involve multiplecards, such as a purchase made at a merchant that offers a loyaltyprogram. In such a case, the consumer may need to find two cards, suchas a credit card to pay for the purchase and a loyalty card to obtainloyalty points for the purchase.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will be described and explainedthrough the use of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a process for paying for a purchase using aproxy card;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a process for paying for a purchase using apayment object;

FIG. 3A is an illustration of a subset of components of or associatedwith a first embodiment of a financial system for processing financialtransactions and associated fund transfers;

FIG. 3B is an illustration of a subset of components of or associatedwith a second embodiment of a financial system for processing financialtransactions and associated fund transfers;

FIG. 4A is an illustration of components of or associated with a thirdembodiment of a financial system for processing financial transactionsand associated fund transfers;

FIG. 4B is an illustration of components of or associated with a fourthembodiment of a financial system for processing financial transactionsand associated fund transfers;

FIG. 4C is an illustration of components of or associated with a fifthembodiment of a financial system for processing financial transactionsand associated fund transfers;

FIG. 5A is an illustration of components of or associated with a firstembodiment of a financial system for processing financial transactionsand associated fund transfers;

FIG. 5B is an illustration of components of or associated with a secondembodiment of a financial system for processing financial transactionsand associated fund transfers;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are a flow charts illustrating a method for processing apayment made using a payment object;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a method for selectinga payment account to use to pay for a financial transaction;

FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C are illustrations of a listing of payment accountsassociated with a proxy card being displayed on a smartphone;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating operations of a method for selectinga payment account based on location information;

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating operations of a process forassociating a magnetic stripe card with a proxy card;

FIG. 11 is an illustration of one type of proxy card;

FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating a process for encoding a magneticstripe area of a magnetic stripe card with data from multiple cards;

FIG. 13 is an illustration of a magnetic stripe card including amagnetic stripe emulator; and

FIG. 14 is a high-level block diagram showing an example of processingsystem in which at least some operations related to a selecting apreferred payment mechanism can be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In this description, references to “an embodiment”, “one embodiment” orthe like, mean that the particular feature, function, structure orcharacteristic being described is included in at least one embodiment ofthe technique introduced here. Occurrences of such phrases in thisspecification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment. Onthe other hand, the embodiments referred to also are not necessarilymutually exclusive.

This application discloses technology related to a technique of encodinga magnetic stripe area of a magnetic stripe card with account data ofmultiple cards or accounts. The magnetic stripe card can be a proxycard, which is a card that can be associated with account dataassociated with various types of cards and accounts, such as a paymentcard or payment card account, an identification card, a library card, amembership card or account, etc. For example, a proxy card can beassociated with account data from a driver's license, a credit account,a debit card, a pre-paid gift card, and a loyalty card, among others.The account data can be a record identifier, such as an identifier thatidentifies a driver's license, a passport, etc.

The consumer has access to account data of all of the multiple cardswhile carrying only the proxy card, and can use the proxy card forpurchases and other transactions. As a result of having the proxy card,the consumer is relieved of the burden of having to carry all of hiscredit cards, debit cards, automated teller machine (ATM) cards, giftcards, etc. Further, the magnetic stripe area of the magnetic stripecard can be encoded such that the magnetic stripe area has account dataof multiple cards at the same time. By having such an encoding, withjust one swipe of the magnetic stripe card through a card reader, thecard reader can read the account data of the multiple cards from themagnetic stripe area.

The cards selected for a given use can be selected based on any ofvarious types of criteria. For example, the selection can be based arandom selection, an indicated time, an indicated location, an indicatedlocation of the magnetic stripe card, the last card selected, anindication of cards that are accepted by a merchant, an indication thata card is contextually relevant, an associated transaction, etc. Usinglocation as an example of a criterion, when the consumer uses themagnetic stripe card, such as by swiping the magnetic stripe cardthrough a card reader associated with a point of sale (POS) system,location information indicating the location of the magnetic stripe cardcan be obtained.

Account data of a first card is selected to use for the transactionbased on the location information. The location can be, for example, ageographic location indicated by a global positioning satellite (GPS)coordinate. The GPS coordinate can be correlated with a merchant, and anaccount can be selected based on the magnetic stripe card being at themerchant. For example, an account associated with a gift card acceptedby the merchant can be selected based on the geographic location beingcorrelated with the merchant. As another example, the location can be aplace of business of a merchant, as determined based on the name of themerchant involved in the transaction, and a gift card that is acceptedby the merchant can be selected for the transaction based on being atthe merchant.

As yet another example, the location can be a merchant that accepts acertain type of credit card, as determined based on near fieldcommunications with the POS system, in which case that certain type ofcredit card can be selected for the transaction. As still anotherexample, the location can be a grocery store, as determined based on amerchant category code (MCC) that is transmitted by the POS system, inwhich case an account that provides for rewards points when used at agrocery store can be chosen. Examples such as these are discussed infurther detail below. Other examples of identifiable locations or othercriteria are also possible within the scope of this technique.

Further, account data of a second card is selected to use for thetransaction based on a criterion. The criterion can be the same as thatused for the selection of the first card, or it can be different. Forexample, the first card selected can be a payment card accepted by amerchant based on an indication that the magnetic stripe card is locatedat the merchant. The second card selected can be a loyalty card thatearns points when used at the merchant, and the selection can be basedon the indication that the magnetic stripe card is at the merchant.

The magnetic stripe area of the magnetic stripe card is encoded withaccount data for the payment card accepted by the merchant and withaccount data for the loyalty card that earns points when used at themerchant. With just a single swipe of the magnetic stripe card through acard reader of a POS system, the card reader can read the account dataof both the payment card and the loyalty card from the magnetic stripearea of the magnetic stripe card. The POS system can then process thepayment using the account data of the payment card, and can arrange forpoints for the loyalty card based on the account data of the loyaltycard. This saves the consumer of the burden of having to dig through awallet or purse to find the two particular cards that are used for thetransaction. Further, the consumer does not have to go through two cardswipes, and can provide the needed account data with a single swipe ofthe magnetic stripe card.

The term “swipe” here refers to any manner of triggering a card readerto read a card, such as passing a card through a magnetic stripe reader,smartcard reader, optical code reader, radio frequency identification(RFID) reader, etc. The terms “payment object” or “proxy object” hererefer to any object that can be used to make an electronic payment, suchas a mobile device via a digital wallet application. The term “cardreader” here refers to any object that can be used to obtain informationfrom an object used to make an electronic payment where the card readermust be in the general vicinity of the object, such as an opticalscanner, a near field communications device, a Bluetooth communicationsdevice, etc. The term “cause” and variations thereof, as used herein,refers to either direct causation or indirect causation. For example, acomputer system can “cause” an action by sending a message to a secondcomputer system that commands, requests or prompts the second computersystem to perform the action. Any number of intermediary devices mayexamine and/or relay the message during this process. In this regard, adevice can “cause” an action even though it may not be known to thedevice whether the action will ultimately be executed.

In a first illustrative use case, a consumer shops at a merchant andtakes some items to a check stand. The merchant rings up the items usinga POS system, and the consumer presents the magnetic stripe card to payfor the purchase. The magnetic stripe card of this example is a paymentcard that is similar in appearance to a credit card, but that includes aprocessor, non-volatile memory, a communications interface, and amagnetic stripe emulator. Accounts associated respectively with severalcredit cards, a debit card, a pre-paid gift card, and a loyalty cardissued by Bluebonnet Bakery, are associated with the magnetic stripecard using the non-volatile memory. The magnetic stripe card obtainslocation information indicating the location of the magnetic stripe cardby wirelessly communicating with the POS system via the communicationsinterface. The magnetic stripe card receives, via wireless communicationfrom the POS system, an indication that the POS system is associatedwith Bluebonnet Bakery, which further indicates that the magnetic stripecard, and also the consumer, are at Bluebonnet Bakery.

Because the location information indicates that the magnetic stripe cardis at Bluebonnet Bakery, the magnetic stripe card selects the accountdata of both the pre-paid gift card and the loyalty card issued byBluebonnet Bakery to use for the purchase. A processor in the magneticstripe card sends at least one signal to the magnetic stripe emulator onthe magnetic stripe card, in response to which the magnetic stripeemulator configures a magnetic stripe area of the magnetic stripe cardto emulate a magnetic stripe encoded with the account information forthe Bluebonnet Bakery pre-paid gift card, as well as the BluebonnetBakery loyalty card. With just a single swipe of the magnetic stripecard through the card reader of the POS system, the card reader readsthe account data of both the Bluebonnet Bakery pre-paid gift card andthe Bluebonnet Bakery loyalty card from the recently configured magneticstripe area of the magnetic stripe card. The POS system processes thepayment using the account associated with the Bluebonnet Bakery pre-paidgift card based on the account data, and provides for points for theBluebonnet Bakery loyalty card based on the loyalty account data.

In a second illustrative use example, a consumer shops at a merchant andtakes some items to a check stand. The merchant rings up the items usinga POS system, and the consumer presents the magnetic stripe card of thefirst example to pay for the purchase. One of the credit cardsassociated with the magnetic stripe card provides for a discount whenused at grocery stores and supermarkets. A second card associated withthe magnetic stripe card is a loyalty card that earns points when usedat a particular grocer. A mobile device of the consumer, which in thisexample uses Bluetooth low energy (BLE) to communicate with the magneticstripe card, obtains location information by wirelessly communicatingwith the POS system via the communications interface. The mobile devicereceives a merchant category code (MCC) with a value of (in thisexample) “5411” from the POS system, and an identity of the merchant,which indicates that the merchant is the particular grocer. An MCC codeof “5411” is assigned to grocery stores and supermarkets, so receipt ofthe MCC code of “5411” by the mobile device is an indication that themobile device, and the magnetic stripe card using BLE to communicatewith the mobile device, is located at a grocery store or a supermarket.

Based on the location information, which indicates that the magneticstripe card is at a grocery store or a supermarket, the mobile deviceselects the account data of the credit card that provides for thediscount when used for a purchase at a grocery store or supermarket.Based on the location information, which indicates that the identity ofthe merchant the particular grocer, the mobile device selects theaccount data of the loyalty card of the first grocer. The mobile devicesends at least one message to the magnetic stripe card, in response towhich the magnetic card emulator of the magnetic stripe card configuresthe magnetic stripe area of the magnetic stripe card to emulate amagnetic stripe encoded with the account data of the discount creditcard, as well as the account data of the loyalty card. With a singleswipe of the magnetic stripe card through the card reader of the POSsystem, the card reader reads the account data of the discount creditcard, as well as the account data of the loyalty card, from the recentlyconfigured magnetic stripe area of the magnetic stripe card. The POSsystem processes the payment using the account data of the credit cardthat provides for the discount, and provides for loyalty points for theloyalty card of the particular grocer based on the loyalty account data.

In a third illustrative use example, a consumer shops at a merchant thatonly accepts VISA® credit cards, and that issued a loyalty card to theconsumer, and takes some items to a check stand. The merchant rings upthe items using a POS system, and the consumer presents a magneticstripe card to pay for the purchase. The magnetic stripe card providescard data for the magnetic stripe card to the POS system, such as bybeing swiped to obtain the card data for the magnetic stripe card usinga card reader associated with a POS system, or by wirelesslycommunicating with the POS system via the communications interface. Themagnetic stripe card data and transaction information is sent to acomputer system, which can be located remotely from the magnetic stripecard. The transaction information includes a merchant identification(ID) number associated with the merchant, and the computer system usesthis ID number to perform a database lookup to determine the identity ofthe merchant, to determine that the merchant only accepts VISA creditcards, and to determine that the merchant issues loyalty cards.

The computer system determines the account data associated with themagnetic stripe card based on the magnetic stripe card data, and selectsaccount data for a VISA credit card and for the loyalty card to use forthe transaction. The VISA credit card is selected based on the locationinformation, which indicates that the magnetic stripe card is at amerchant that only accepts VISA credit cards. The loyalty card isselected based on the location information, which indicates that thecard is at the merchant that issued the loyalty card.

The computer system sends at least one message to the magnetic stripecard, such as via a cellular network, in response to which the magneticcard emulator configures the magnetic stripe area to emulate a magneticstripe encoded with the account data of the VISA credit card, as well asthe account data of the loyalty card. Consequently, with a single swipeof the magnetic stripe card through the card reader of the POS system,the card reader reads the account data of the VISA credit card and theaccount data of the loyalty card, from the recently configured magneticstripe area. The POS system processes the payment using the account dataof the VISA credit card and provides for loyalty points for the loyaltycard of the merchant based on the loyalty account data.

In the following description, the example of a merchant selling goods toa customer is used, for illustrative purposes only, to explain variousaspects of the technique. Note, however, that the technique introducedhere is not limited in applicability to merchants and customers nor tothe sales of goods. The technique can be utilized with essentially anytransaction that traditionally would be initiated by or involve the useof a card reader. Hence, the term “sale”, as in point-of-sale (POS) forexample, refers to any type of payment-oriented transaction, includingfor example a lease, a rental, or services, and is not limited to anactual purchase. Note also that in this description the terms “customer”or “payer” generally refer to the person making the payment related tothe transaction, while “merchant” or “payee” generally refer to theperson receiving the payment related to the transaction.

FIG. 1 illustrates a process for paying for a purchase using a proxycard in accordance with various aspects of the disclosed technology.While the example of FIG. 1 involves paying for a purchase using a proxycard, the disclosed technology can be used to make any electronicpayment, including payments for the purchase of goods, for rentals, forservices, for financial transactions, etc. The example processillustrated in FIG. 1 has three phases. The first phase is card swipe105. A consumer has proxy card 150, which in this example is a magneticstripe card physically similar to a credit card. Multiple paymentaccounts are associated with proxy card 150 including several creditcards, a debit card, an automated teller machine (ATM) card, and aprepaid gift card. The payment accounts are associated with proxy card150, such as by being linked to proxy card 150. The links can beimplemented using a database that associates proxy card 150 with thepayment accounts. For a discussion as to how these links may beimplemented, refer to the discussion of object 250 of FIG. 2.

The consumer presents proxy card 150 to a seller to pay for a purchase.The seller executes card swipe 105, which includes step 103, in whichthe seller swipes proxy card 150 through card reader 155, and step 108,in which card reader 155 transmits information obtained from proxy card150 to POS system 158, a point-of-sales (POS) system to which cardreader 155 is coupled (either directly or indirectly). The term “swipe”here refers to any manner of triggering a card reader to read a card,such as passing a card through a magnetic stripe reader, smartcardreader, optical code reader, radio frequency identification (RFID)reader, etc. The term “card reader” here refers to any object that canbe used to obtain information from an object used to make an electronicpayment where the card reader must be in the general vicinity of theobject, such as an optical scanner, a near field communications device,a Bluetooth communications device, etc.

POS system 158 then begins the second phase, which is paymentauthorization 130. Payment authorization 130 includes steps forobtaining an authorization for the payment and includes steps 110, 115,120, 125, and 180. Payment authorization 130 starts with step 110. Atstep 110 POS system 158 initiates transmission of information associatedwith proxy card 150, referred to herein as the proxy card information,to financial system 160. In this example, the proxy card informationincludes identifying information for the proxy card and meta-data whichis used to determine that proxy card 150 is a proxy card, among otherpurposes. POS system 158 is agnostic to what financial system 160 andproxy card 150 are. As far as POS system 158 can tell, proxy card 150 isno different than other payment cards, and sending information tofinancial system 160 for proxy card 150 is no different than sendinginformation for other payment cards.

POS system 158 further transmits information associated with thepurchase transaction, referred to herein as the transaction information,to financial system 160. The transaction information includes the amountof the transaction, and can further include information regarding thepayee and individual line items from the transaction, among otherinformation. At step 110, financial system 160 receives the proxy cardinformation and the transaction information. At step 115, financialsystem 160 parses the meta-data and determines, based on the meta-data,to send a message to computer system 170. The message sent to computersystem 170 at step 115 can include all or part of the proxy cardinformation and the transaction information, among other information.The meta-data can include data such as an IP address or a phone numberthat indicate where the message should be sent.

Computer system 170, upon receiving the proxy card information, accessesa database access to obtain payment account information associated withproxy card 150. At step 180, computer system 170 applies an algorithm,which in some embodiments is customized by the consumer, to select thepayment account to use for the purchase transaction. At step 120,computer system 170 transmits the transaction information and thepayment account information to financial system 160, and financialsystem 160 determines the results of payment authorization 130 using theselected payment account. If the payment account has access to adequatefunds for the payment, and no other issue exists, financial system 160determines that the result of payment authorization 130 is that thepayment is authorized.

If some issue exists, such as the payment account does not have accessto adequate funds for the payment or the payment account has a fraudalert, financial system 160 determines that the result of paymentauthorization 130 is that the payment is declined. Other results, suchas declining the purchase transaction and instructing the seller to takepossession of the proxy card, or additional information, such as anauthorization number, can be transmitted to financial system 160 at step120. At step 125, financial system 160 transmits the results of paymentauthorization 130 to POS system 158.

In some embodiments, instead of financial system 160 determining andsending the results of payment authorization 130, computer system 170determines and sends the results of the payment authorization. Computersystem 170 decides the payment authorization based on information suchas the consumer's credit reports or scores and the history of pastpayments processed by computer system 170. Computer system 170 sends thepayment authorization results to POS system 158, or to financial system160, which relays the results to POS system 158.

At this point, assuming that the purchase transaction was authorized andthe consumer accepted the purchase transaction, the purchase transactionis complete and the consumer is free to walk out of the store with thepurchased items. At a later time, for example when the consumer arrivesat home, the consumer can optionally start phase 3, change of paymentaccount 145. If the consumer does not utilize this phase, financialsystem 160 will transfer funds for the payment from the selected paymentaccount to an account associated with the seller. However, during thisphase, the consumer can select a second different payment account fromwhich funds to for the payment are to be obtained.

The consumer uses personal computing device 165, for example a smartphone or a laptop computer, to initiate change of payment account 145which includes steps 135, 140, and 175. At step 135, personal computingdevice 165 communicates with computer system 170 to initiate change ofpayment account 145. At step 140, computer system 170 providesinformation regarding the purchase transaction to the consumer viapersonal computing device 165. Examples of the information providedinclude the date of the purchase, information regarding the seller, andthe amount of the purchase. Computer system 170 further providesinformation regarding the payment accounts associated with proxy card150 to the consumer via personal computing device 165. Computer system170 has access to a database containing various information associatedwith proxy card 150, as well as information associated with the consumerand/or the payment accounts associated with proxy card 150.

When there are multiple payment accounts associated with proxy card 150,the consumer, using personal computing device 165, can select anypayment account associated with proxy card 150 from which funds for thepayment are to be obtained. At step 140, personal computing device 165transmits information indicating the selection to computer system 170.After the selection is made, at step 175 computer system 170 transmitsinformation related to the selection, such as identifying informationfor the selected payment account, to financial system 160, which causesfinancial system 160 to obtain funds for the purchase from the selectedpayment account. Computer system 170 additionally prevents the fundsfrom being obtained from the initially selected payment account, such asby canceling the payment initially to be obtained from the initiallyselected payment account.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a process for paying for a purchase using apayment object in accordance with various aspects of the disclosedtechnology. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the purchase processhas three phases. The first phase is object presentation 205. A consumerhas object 250, which is referred to herein interchangeably as a “proxyobject” and a “payment object.” Object 250 has associated paymentaccounts, and can be a proxy card with associated payment accounts. Theconsumer presents object 250 to the seller to pay for a purchase.Because object 250 is compatible with financial system 160, object 250can be presented to the seller in a way that enables the seller toobtain information related to object 250 sufficient to enable initiationof payment authorization 230.

As a first example, object 250 can be proxy card 150 of FIG. 1. Objectpresentation 205 includes presenting the proxy card so that the proxycard can be read by object identifier 255. In this example, objectidentifier 255 is a POS system including a card reader in which the cardreader is able to obtain information associated with object 250 (i.e.,the proxy card) sufficient to initiate payment authorization 230. As asecond example, object 250 can be a finger. Object presentation 205includes presenting the finger so that the fingerprint of the finger canbe read by object identifier 255. In this second example, objectidentifier is a biometric finger scanner capable of obtaininginformation related to object 250 (i.e., the finger) sufficient toenable initiation of payment authorization 230.

Object identifier 255 begins the second phase, which is paymentauthorization 230 and includes steps 210, 215, 220, 225, and 280.Payment authorization 230 includes the steps for obtaining authorizationfor the payment related to the purchase transaction. Paymentauthorization 230 starts with step 210. At step 210, object identifier255 obtains object information associated with object 250. For example,a POS system can obtain proxy card information from the proxy card. Step210 continues with the transmission of the object information tofinancial system 160. For example, the POS system can transmit the proxycard information to financial system 160. Information related to thepurchase transaction (i.e., the transaction information), such as theamount of the purchase, is also transmitted to financial system 160.

Object identifier 255 can be, for example, a card reader which transmitsthe object information and the transaction information to financialsystem 160. Financial system 160 receives the transmitted information,and based on this information, decides to relay the transmittedinformation to computer system 170 for further processing. At step 215,financial system 160 relays the transmitted information, along withother information, to computer system 170.

For example, financial system 160 can receive the transmitted proxy cardinformation, which includes meta-data, and the purchase amount. Uponreceiving the proxy card information, and based on the proxy cardinformation, financial system 160 decides to relay the transmittedinformation to computer system 170. At this point in time, financialsystem 160 does not have the information needed to complete or authorizethe purchase transaction, as financial system 160 without computersystem 170 is not able to determine a payment account associated withthe proxy card to use for the purchase transaction.

Computer system 170, upon receiving the proxy card information, accessesa database access to obtain payment account information associated withthe proxy card information. At step 280, computer system 170 applies analgorithm, which in some embodiments can be customized by the consumer,to select the payment account to use for the purchase transaction. Thefollowing are example algorithms which can additionally be used for step180 of FIG. 1. 1) When there are multiple payment accounts associatedwith object 250 and until changed by the consumer or some other entity,the same one payment account is used for all payments made using object250. 2) The payment account used can be different for each purchasetransaction as well as for each line item of a purchase transactionbased on a payment account selection algorithm.

For example, a consumer can use a proxy card to purchase gas and a snackitem at a gas station as part of a single purchase transaction. For thispurchase transaction, the payment account selection algorithm can selecta gas credit card associated with the proxy card for the gas line item,and can select a VISA credit card associated with the proxy card for thesnack line item. In some embodiments, the consumer can set, modify, orchange the algorithm for selecting the payment account to use for apurchase transaction. In some embodiments, the algorithm is based oninputs received from the consumer.

At step 220, computer system 170 transmits the transaction informationand the payment account information to financial system 160, andfinancial system 160 determines the results of payment authorization 230using the selected payment account. If the payment account has access toadequate funds for the payment, and no other issue exists, financialsystem 160 determines that the result of payment authorization 230 isthat the payment is authorized.

If some issue exists, such as the payment account does not have accessto adequate funds for the payment or the payment account has a fraudalert, financial system 160 determines that the result of paymentauthorization 230 is that the payment is declined. Other results, suchas declining the purchase transaction and instructing the seller to takepossession of the proxy card, or additional information, such as anauthorization number, can be transmitted to financial system 160 at step220. At step 225, financial system 160 transmits the results of paymentauthorization 230 to object identifier 255.

In some embodiments, instead of financial system 160 determining andsending the results of payment authorization 230, computer system 170determines and sends the results of the payment authorization. Computersystem 170 decides the payment authorization based on information suchas the consumer's credit reports or scores and the history of pastpayments processed by computer system 170. Computer system 170 can sendthe payment authorization results to object identifier 255, or can sendthe results to financial system 160, which can relay the results toobject identifier 255.

At this point, assuming that the purchase transaction was authorized andthe consumer accepted the purchase transaction, the purchase transactionis complete and the consumer is free to walk out of the store with thepurchased items. At a later time, for example when the consumer arrivesat home, the consumer can optionally start phase 3, change of paymentaccount 245. If the consumer does not utilize this phase, financialsystem 160 will transfer funds for the payment from the selected paymentaccount to an account associated with the seller. However, during thisphase, the consumer can select a second different payment account fromwhich funds for the payment are to be obtained.

The consumer uses personal computing device 165, for example a smartphone or a laptop computer, to initiate change of payment account 245,which includes steps 235, 240, and 275. At step 235, personal computingdevice 165 communicates with computer system 170 to initiate change ofpayment account 245. At step 240, computer system 170 providesinformation regarding the purchase transaction to the consumer viapersonal computing device 165. Examples of the information providedinclude the date of the purchase, information regarding the seller, andthe amount of the purchase. Computer system 170 further providesinformation regarding the payment accounts associated with object 250 tothe consumer via personal computing device 165. Computer system 170 hasaccess to a database containing various information associated withobject 250 as well as associated with the consumer and the paymentaccounts associated with object 250.

When there are multiple payment accounts associated with object 250, theconsumer, using personal computing device 165, can select any paymentaccount associated with object 250 from which funds for the payment areto be obtained. At step 240, personal computing device 165 transmitsinformation indicating the selection to computer system 170. After theselection is made, at step 275 computer system 170 transmits informationrelated to the selection, such as payment account information, tofinancial system 160. This causes financial system 160 to obtain fundsfor the payment from the selected payment account. Computer system 170additionally prevents the funds from being obtained from the initiallyselected payment account, such as by canceling the payment from theinitially selected payment account. The funds can correspond to theamount of the purchase, the amount of a line item, the amount ofmultiple line items, or some other amount corresponding to the purchase,and can be transferred to an account associated with the seller. Thefunds transferred can correspond to an amount by being for the amountless a transaction fee. Further, purchase transactions can be batched,and the funds can be for an amount corresponding to the amount of thebatch of purchase transactions.

Object 250 is compatible with financial system 160. In variousembodiments, object 250 can be a magnetic stripe card, a smart card, aproximity card, a re-programmable magnetic stripe card, an cardcontaining an optical code such as a quick response (QR) code or a barcode, or a biometrically identifiable object, such as a finger, a hand,an iris, a retina, or a face, among others. Object 250 can be associatedwith various payment objects and payment object accounts, includingaccounts associated with credit cards, charge cards, ATM cards, debitcards, pre-paid credit cards, pre-paid debit cards, gift cards, pre-paidgift cards, stored value cards, and fleet cards, among others. Thepayment accounts can be associated with object 250 by, for example,being linked to object 250. The link can be implemented, for example,using a database which links object 250 with the payment accounts.

In an embodiment, object 250 is a proxy card implemented as a magneticstripe card similar to a credit card. The proxy card has an accountnumber similar to a credit card, but, unlike a credit card or debitcard, the account number is not linked to a particular bank or creditunion. Instead, swiping the proxy card, as one would swipe a creditcard, triggers the sending of transaction information and proxy cardinformation to a secondary payment processor. The secondary paymentprocessor creates and maintains a database that links the proxy cardwith the payment accounts. A customer can link various payment cardaccounts with the proxy card by logging in to a website associated withthe secondary payment processor, and entering information into thewebsite that enables the link. For example, the account number of theproxy card and the account number of a payment card can be entered, andthe secondary payment processor can link the two.

Linking can be done by taking photos of the proxy card and the paymentcard and sending the photos to the secondary payment processor, whichcan obtain the information needed to link the cards from the photos. Thephotos can be taken by a mobile device, and an application running onthe mobile device can send the photos to the secondary paymentprocessor. Linking can be done by swiping the two cards through a cardreader connected to the customer's mobile device, and sending the dataobtained by the card reader to the secondary payment processor. Anapplication running on the mobile device can obtain the information forthe two card from the card reader, and can send the data obtained by thecard reader to the secondary payment processor.

In some embodiments, the proxy card has a visible number on its face,similar to a credit card. In some embodiments, the proxy card has novisible number. In an embodiment with no visible number, information forthe proxy card is obtained from the magnetic stripe of the proxy card.In some embodiments, information for the proxy card is obtained viaBluetooth Low Energy (BLE), near field communications (NFC), or othercontactless payment mechanism embedded in the proxy card that triggerspayment using a POS system.

Further, object 250 can be associated with loyalty programs, wherein theloyalty programs are another type of payment account which can be usedto make the purchase. In some embodiments, object 250 can be a mobiledevice. Examples of mobile devices include smart phones, tablets,portable media devices, wearable devices, laptops, and other portablecomputers. In some embodiments, when object 250 is a mobile device, themobile device includes a digital wallet application that triggerspayment using a POS system.

Object identifier 255 can obtain information associated with object 250,where the information is part of the object information. In embodimentswhere object 250 is a magnetic stripe card or a re-programmable magneticstripe card, object identifier 255 can read the magnetic stripe. Inembodiments where object 250 is a smart card, object identifier 255 cancommunicate with the smart card to obtain information related to object250. In embodiments where object 250 is a proximity card, objectidentifier 255 can cause the proximity card to transmit informationassociated with the proximity card, such as a radio frequencyidentification (RFID), which object identifier 255 can receive. Inembodiments where object 250 is a card with an optical code such as a QRcode or bar code, object identifier 255 can obtain the optical code, forexample, by scanning the optical code. In embodiments where object 250is a mobile device, object identifier 250 can communicate with themobile device to obtain information related to object 250, such as via3G, 4G, WiFi, Bluetooth, or BLE. Object identifier 255 can furthertransmit the object information to financial system 160.

Object identifier 255 can further include a sales system, such as POSsystem 158 of FIG. 1. Examples of sales systems include point-of-sale(POS) systems, cash registers, computer systems running salesapplications including mobile devices running sales applications, cloudbased POS systems, checkout registers, computer systems running internetbased applications such as a web browser, and the like.

In embodiments where object 250 is a biometrically identifiable object,such as a finger, a hand, an iris, a retina, or a face, objectidentifier 255 can identify the biometrically identifiable object or canobtain information from the biometrically identifiable object and cantransmit that information to a computer system that can use theinformation to identify the biometrically identifiable object. Forexample, when the biometrically identifiable object is a finger, objectidentifier 255 can obtain data related to the fingerprint of the finger.In some embodiments, object identifier 255 can recognize the fingerprintto identify the finger (e.g., this is the finger of Jane Doe). Forexample, object identifier 255 can include a biometric scanner coupledto a computer system such as a POS system, wherein the biometric scannercan scan the consumer's fingerprint, can transmit the biometric scanresults to the computer system to which the biometric scanner iscoupled, and the computer system can use the consumer's fingerprint toidentify the finger. In other embodiments, object identifier 255 cantransmit the data related to the fingerprint to a second computersystem, for example, to a compute server associated with the seller, tofinancial system 160, to computer system 170, or to another computersystem, and the second computer system can use the transmittedfingerprint data to identify the finger. The second computer system cantransmit identifying information associated with the finger to objectidentifier 255, where the identifying information is part of the objectinformation. Object identifier 255 can further transmit the objectinformation to financial system 160.

In embodiments where object 250 is a mobile device, object identifier255 can obtain identifying information associated with the mobiledevice. In one example where object 250 is a smart phone, objectidentifier 255 can communicate with the smart phone via 3G to obtainidentifying information related to a digital wallet associated with thesmart phone, where the identifying information is part of the objectinformation. Object identifier 255 in various embodiments cancommunicate with the mobile device via WiFi, 3G, 4G, Near FieldCommunication (NFC), or Bluetooth, or can obtain an optical code such asa QR code or a bar code or any machine readable code from the mobiledevice, for example, by scanning an optical code displayed by the mobiledevice. Object identifier 255 can further transmit the objectinformation to financial system 160.

Personal computing device 165 can be a mobile device. Examples of mobiledevices include smart phones, tablets, portable media devices, wearabledevices, laptops, and other portable computers. Personal computingdevice 165 can further be a non-portable computer, such as a desktopcomputer.

Object 250 can be associated with multiple payment accounts, and aloyalty program can be a payment account. A seller may be motivated toencourage certain behaviors in consumers. For example, the seller maywant the consumer to return to the seller's store, or to purchase acertain item, or to return to the store at a certain time or during acertain time window and make a purchase. To encourage behaviors such asthese, a seller can participate in or offer a loyalty program. Theseller can provide loyalty points or some equivalent for each purchasemade by a consumer. By coming back to the seller's store and makingadditional purchases, the consumer can grow his loyalty points. Theloyalty points can be redeemed for purchases made at the seller's storeor another of the seller's stores or with other businesses thatparticipate in the loyalty program.

In addition to encouraging loyalty to a store or a brand by providingloyalty points for purchases made at the store or for brand products, aseller can use the loyalty program to encourage other behaviors. Forexample, if the store has a slow period, such as a coffee shop is slowbetween 3 pm and 4 pm, the store owner can, in order to give consumersincentive to make purchases at the store during this slow time, offerincreased loyalty points for purchases made between 3 pm and 4 pm at thestore. The store owner can also offer increased redemption value for aconsumer's loyalty points, or can lower the cost of products or servicesin terms of loyalty points, during this time window. For example, thestore owner could offer to redeem 100 loyalty points and provide 150points of value, or could reduce an item that normally costs 150 loyaltypoints to 100 loyalty points, for purchases made between 3 pm and 4 pm.As another example, if a business owner wants to encourage consumers topurchase a new item that the business owner is introducing, the businessowner can offer increased loyalty points to consumers for purchasingthis new item. The business owner can also offer increased loyalty pointredemption value or reduced loyalty point costs to a consumer forpurchasing this new item using loyalty program points. For example, ifthe new item can be normally purchased with 150 loyalty points, thebusiness owner can offer 150 points of loyalty program value for 100redeemed loyalty points to a consumer for purchasing this new item, orthe business owner can reduce the cost of the new item to 100 loyaltypoints.

FIG. 3A is an illustration of a subset of components of or associatedwith a first embodiment of a financial system for processing purchasetransactions and associated fund transfers. The following description ofFIG. 3A will be described using the transaction illustrated in FIG. 1,and will refer to labels of that figure. FIG. 5A illustrates the firstembodiment, and FIG. 3A contains the subset of the components of FIG. 5Athat are relevant to explaining the transaction illustrated in FIG. 1.The following description of FIG. 3A also applies to FIG. 3B, exceptwhere differences are noted. All actions, decisions, determinations, andthe like which are taken or received by computer system 170 can also betaken or received by financial transaction platform 575 when computersystem 170 includes an implementation of financial transaction platform575, as is represented in FIGS. 5A and 5B.

The transaction of this example starts with a consumer presenting proxycard 150 to seller 310. Seller 310 initiates card swipe 105 at step 103by swiping proxy card 150 through card reader 155. Card reader 155 atstep 108 then sends the information obtained from proxy card 150, theproxy card information, to POS system 158. Card reader 155 is coupled toPOS system 158. Payment authorization 130 starts at step 110 with POSsystem 158 transmitting the proxy card information to financial system160. In the example of FIG. 1, proxy card 150 is encoded as a VISAbranded payment card.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3A, financial system 160 includes processingservice 320, financial service 330, and banking service 340. In someembodiments, financial system 160 can include computer system 170, suchas in the embodiments of FIGS. 4A-4C. FIGS. 4A-4C are illustrations ofcomponents of or associated respectively with a third, fourth, and fifthembodiment of a financial system. In the embodiment of FIG. 4A, computersystem 170 is under the control of banking service 440. In theembodiment of FIG. 4B, computer system 170 is under the control offinancial service 430. In the embodiment of FIG. 4C, computer system 170is under the control of processing service 420.

POS system 158 at step 110 transmits the proxy card information tofinancial system 160, where the proxy card information is received byprocessing service 320. An example of processing service 320 is Bank ofAmerica Merchant Services. Processing service 320, based on the receivedproxy card information, determines that proxy card 150 is encoded as aVISA branded payment card. Based on this determination, processingservice 320 relays the received information to the financial servicethat processes VISA branded payment cards. In this example, financialservice 330 is VISA's VisaNet Payment System, which processes paymentsmade using VISA branded payment cards.

The proxy card information includes meta-data which financial service330 uses to determine to transmit the proxy card and transactioninformation to computer system 170. As illustrated in FIGS. 4A-4C, invarious embodiments computer system 170 can be under the control of aprocessing service, a financial service, or a banking service. Financialservice 330, upon determining to transmit information associated withproxy card 150 to computer system 170, performs step 115 in whichfinancial service 330 transmits information associated with proxy card150 to computer system 170.

Connector 390 shows two connections to financial service 330 in order tofacilitate explaining the example of FIG. 3A. This is not intended torepresent two connections, or any specific number of connections.Connector 390 represents an information flow made via any type ofcommunications medium, such as a network (wired or wireless). Label 390Brepresents a flow of information that is generally from financial system160 to computer system 170, such as occurs at step 115. In theembodiments of FIGS. 5A and 5B, the information flow of step 115 isgenerally from financial service 330 to computer system 170. Label 390Arepresents a flow of information that is generally from computer system170 to financial system 160, such as occurs at steps 120 and 175. In theembodiment of FIG. 5A, the information flow of steps 120 and 175 isgenerally from computer system 170 to financial service 330. In theembodiment of FIG. 5B, the information flow of steps 120 and 175 isgenerally from computer system 170 to processing service 320.

Computer system 170 at step 180 selects the payment account to use forthe purchase transaction, which in this example is also a VISA brandedpayment card account. Computer system 170 performs step 120 whichincludes sending the transaction information and the payment accountinformation to financial system 160. In the financial system embodimentof FIG. 3A, this includes sending the transaction and payment accountinformation to financial service 330, as is represented by the branch ofconnector 390 that is labeled 390A. Computer system 170 sends thetransaction and payment account information to financial service 330based on a determination that the selected payment account is a VISAbranded payment account, and based on a determination that financialservice 330 is the financial service that processes payments made usingVISA branded payment cards.

As is represented by label 390A of FIG. 5A, computer system 170 can sendthe transaction and payment account information to different financialservices when payments from the selected payment account are processedby other financial services. Financial service 330 determines that thepayment account is managed by banking service 340, and sends thetransaction and payment account information to banking service 340. Anexample of a banking service is Chase Bank. Banking service 340determines the result of payment authorization 130, and in step 125sends the results of the authorization to POS system 158.

FIG. 3B is an illustration of a subset of components of or associatedwith a second embodiment of a financial system for processing purchasetransactions and associated fund transfers. FIG. 5B illustrates thesecond embodiment, and FIG. 3B contains the subset of the components ofFIG. 5B that are relevant to explaining the transaction illustrated inFIG. 1. In the embodiment of FIG. 3B, when computer system 170 performsstep 120, computer system 170 sends the transaction information and thepayment account information to processing service 320 instead offinancial service 330. In this embodiment, rather than computer system170 making the determination to send the transaction and payment accountinformation to financial service 330 for processing, processing service320 makes this determination. Processing service 320 sends thetransaction and payment account information to financial service 330based on a determination that the selected payment account is a VISAbranded payment account, and based on a determination that financialservice 330 is the financial service that processes payments made usingVISA branded payment cards. In this embodiment, label 390A represents aflow of information that is generally from computer system 170 toprocessing service 320, such as occurs at steps 120 and 175.

Returning to the description of FIG. 3A, at this point, assuming thatthe purchase transaction was authorized and the consumer accepted thepurchase transaction, the purchase transaction is complete. At a latertime, for example when the consumer arrives at home, the consumer canoptionally start phase 3, change of payment account 145. If the consumerutilizes change of payment account 145, at step 175 computer system 170sends the second payment account information and the transactioninformation to financial system 160.

For the embodiment represented in FIG. 3A, and similar to the above FIG.3A discussion related to step 120, sending the transaction and paymentaccount information to financial system 160 includes sending thetransaction and payment account information to financial service 330, asis represented by 390A of FIG. 3A. For the embodiment represented inFIG. 3B, and similar to the above FIG. 3B discussion related to step120, sending the transaction and payment account information tofinancial system 160 includes sending the transaction and paymentaccount information to processing service 320, as is represented by 390Aof FIG. 3B. Processing service 320 makes a determination to send thetransaction and payment account information to financial service 330.

Returning to the description of FIG. 3A, financial service 330determines that the payment account of this example is managed bybanking service 340, and sends the transaction and payment accountinformation to banking service 340. For other payment accounts,financial service 330 may determine that a different bank manages thatpayment account. Financial service 330 can send the transaction andpayment account information to another banking service, as isrepresented in FIG. 5A, which shows information flowing from multiplefinancial services to multiple banking services. Banking service 340determines the result of payment authorization 130, and sends the resultto computer system 170. Upon receipt of the authorization, computersystem 170 ensures that funds for the payment will not be taken from thepayment account initially selected for the payment. This can be done,for example, by canceling the previously authorized payment. As a resultof change of payment account 145, funds for the payment will betransferred from the second payment account to the account associatedwith the seller, and funds for the payment will not be taken from theinitial payment account.

In the financial system embodiment of FIG. 3B, causing the transferincludes computer system 170 sending the transaction and payment accountinformation to processing service 320, as is represented by 390A of FIG.3B. As discussed previously, processing service 320 determines to sendthe transaction and payment account information to financial service330. Financial service 330 performs from this point as previouslydescribed.

FIG. 5A is an illustration of components of or associated with a firstembodiment of a financial system for processing financial transactionsand associated fund transfers. Computer system 170 includes financialtransaction platform 575. A financial transaction platform enablesmultiple consumers to engage in financial transactions with multiplepayees. As an example of one such financial transaction, a consumer canpurchase a coffee from a merchant using payment card 505. POS system158A can obtain payment card information from payment card 505 and cansend the payment card information and the transaction information tofinancial transaction platform 575. Financial transaction platform 575can process the payment made using the payment card, where theprocessing includes sending information to financial system 160 tocauses a transfer of funds from the account associated with payment card505 to an account associated with the merchant. All other components ofFIG. 5A are discussed in the descriptions of FIGS. 1-4.

FIG. 5B is an illustration of components of or associated with a secondembodiment of a financial system for processing financial transactionsand associated fund transfers. All components of FIG. 5B are discussedin the descriptions of FIGS. 1-5A.

FIG. 6A is a flow chart illustrating operations of an example of amethod for processing a payment made using a payment object. At step605, computer system 170, by running financial transaction platform 575,enables multiple customers to engage in financial transactions withmultiple payees. Step 605 can be performed by financial transactionplatform 575, as well as by computer system 170. Using the example ofFIG. 5A as an example of one such financial transaction, a consumer canpurchase a coffee from a merchant using payment card 505. POS system158A can obtain payment card information from payment card 505 and cansend the payment card information and the transaction information tofinancial transaction platform 575. Computer system 170, as well asfinancial transaction platform 575, can process the payment made usingthe payment card, where the processing includes sending information tofinancial system 160 to cause a transfer of funds from the accountassociated with payment card 505 to an account associated with themerchant.

A consumer makes or initiates a payment using a payment object. Thepayment object can be, for example, a proxy card. A consumer can presentthe proxy card to make a payment associated with a financialtransaction. For example, the consumer can purchase a coffee from amerchant. To pay for the coffee, the consumer can present the proxy cardto the merchant, as is done in step 205 of FIG. 2. An object identifier,such as one associated with POS system 158, can obtain proxy cardinformation from the proxy card, as is done in step 210 of FIG. 2. Theproxy card information can be sent to financial system 160, as is donein step 210 of FIG. 2. The proxy card information can alternatively besent to computer system 170 and/or financial transaction platform 575,for example, from POS system 158A to computer system 170 and/orfinancial transaction platform 575. The consumer can make or initiate apayment using the proxy card by presenting the proxy card to themerchant so that the merchant's POS system can obtain proxy cardinformation from the proxy card.

At step 615, computer system 170 and/or financial transaction platform575 receives transaction information associated with a financialtransaction. As per step 215, financial system 160 can send thetransaction information received at step 210 to computer system 170,with computer system 170 accordingly receiving the transactioninformation. In some embodiments, financial transaction platform 575 isimplemented on computer system 170, and financial transaction platform575 also receives the transaction information.

At step 620, computer system 170 and/or financial transaction platform575 receives the payment object information. Step 620 can occur afterstep 605, and before or after step 615. The payment object can be aproxy card, and computer system 170 and/or financial transactionplatform 575 can receive the proxy card information. As per step 215,financial system 160 can send the proxy card information received atstep 210 to computer system 170, with computer system 170 resultantlyreceiving the proxy card information. In some embodiments, financialtransaction platform 575 is implemented on computer system 170, andfinancial transaction platform 575 can also receive the proxy cardinformation.

At step 625, computer system 170 and/or financial transaction platform575 accesses a database that includes stored association informationrepresenting an association between the proxy card and multiple paymentaccounts. Step 625 can occur after steps 615-620. The associationinformation can be, for example, links between the proxy card and themultiple payment accounts. When the payment object is a proxy card, theconsumer can, for example, enter the card number of the proxy card usinga web site associated with computer system 170 and/or financialtransaction platform 575. The consumer can then enter the card number ofa first payment card using the website. Computer system 170 and/orfinancial transaction platform 575 can link the first payment card withthe proxy card, such as by using a database. As a second example, theconsumer installs an application on his mobile device, and swipes hisproxy card and a payment card through a card reader that is coupled tothe mobile device. The application communicates with a computer system,and provides proxy card information and payment card information to acomputer system. The computer system associates the proxy card and thepayment card.

The consumer can similarly link additional payment cards, and themultiple payment cards can all be associated with the proxy card. Thelinkages in the database between the proxy card and the multiple paymentaccounts are association information, where the association informationis stored in the database. The database can contain further associationinformation, such as the name of the consumer, the consumer's address,credit report information regarding the consumer, and the like.

When accessing the database, this association information can beretrieved from the database. For example, computer system 170 and/orfinancial transaction platform 575 can use the proxy card informationreceived during step 620 as an index into the database. One of theentries in the database can be a list of payment accounts associatedwith the proxy card. Computer system 170 and/or financial transactionplatform 575 can retrieve this list of payment accounts, and can furtherretrieve payment account information from the database.

After step 625, one or more of the payment accounts associated with theproxy card can be chosen to use to obtain authorization for the payment.The payment account can be selected by computer system 170 and/orfinancial transaction platform 575, as happens at step 630, or can beselected by the consumer, as happens during steps 635-640.

At step 630, computer system 170 and/or financial transaction platform575 select a first payment account. Step 630 can be after step 625.Computer system 170 and/or financial transaction platform 575 can selectthe first payment account based on an algorithm. For example, thealgorithm can select the same one payment account for all payments madeusing the proxy card. The consumer in some embodiments can change thepayment account that is chosen. As a second example, the algorithm canselect a different payment account for each purchase transaction, aswell as for each line item of the purchase transaction. For example, thealgorithm can select an Exxon credit card for gas purchases, and a VISAcredit card for items purchased at a grocer. If the consumer purchasesgas and snacks at one store, the algorithm can select the Exxon card topay for the gas purchase and can select the VISA card to pay for thesnack purchase.

At step 635, computer system 170 and/or financial transaction platform575 causes a portion of the association information to be displayed.Step 635 can be after step 625. In this scenario, for example, theconsumer just provided the proxy card to the merchant to pay for thecoffee. The proxy card was swiped and the transaction is going throughthe authorization process. During the authorization process, a listingof the payment accounts associated with the proxy card can be displayedon the consumer's mobile device, as is illustrated in display 800 ofFIG. 8A. The consumer can use his mobile device to select the paymentaccount to use for the payment, such as by touching the screen toindicate a selection of one of the displayed payment accounts.

In this example, computer system 170 and/or financial transactionplatform 575 obtained the listing of the payment accounts associatedwith the proxy card while accessing the database at step 625, where thelisting of the payment accounts is a portion of the associationinformation. Computer system 170 and/or financial transaction platform575 sends or causes to be sent this listing of payment account to theconsumer's mobile device, and the consumer used his mobile device toselect the payment card to use for the payment.

At step 640, computer system 170 and/or financial transaction platform575 receives selection information indicating a selection of a firstpayment account. Step 640 can occur after step 625 or 635. After theconsumer uses his mobile device to select the payment account to use forthe payment, the mobile device can send selection information tocomputer system 170 and/or financial transaction platform 575, where theselection information indicates a selection of a first payment accountto use for the payment.

At step 645, computer system 170 and/or financial transaction platform575 causes an authorization for the payment to be sent to, for example,an object identifier such as a POS system 158. Step 645 can occur afterany of steps 625-640. As a first example, computer system 170 and/orfinancial transaction platform 575 causes the authorization to be sentby sending the transaction information and the selected payment accountinformation to financial system 160. The financial system determineswhether the payment account has access to adequate funds to make thepayment, and authorizes the payment when adequate funds are available.The payment account can be deemed to have sufficient funds available foruse for the payment in several ways. For example, when the paymentaccount is a deposit account, it can be deemed to have sufficient fundsavailable for use when the amount of funds in the account is equal to orgreater than the amount of the payment.

The deposit account can also be deemed to have sufficient fundsavailable for use even when the amount of funds in the account is lessthan the amount of the purchase. For example, if the account hasoverdraft protection, the account can be deemed to have sufficient fundsavailable for use when the amount of funds in the account plus theamount of funds available via overdraft protection is equal to orgreater than the amount of the payment. When the payment account is acredit account, the payment account can be deemed to have sufficientfunds available for use when the amount of credit funds available viathe credit account is equal to or greater than the amount of thepayment. When financial system 160 deems that the payment account hassufficient funds available for use, financial system 160 sends theauthorization for the purchase to the object identifier, such as POSsystem 158.

As a second example, computer system 170 and/or financial transactionplatform 575 can send the authorization to an object identifier, such asPOS system 158. Computer system 170 and/or financial transactionplatform 575 can determine if the payment account is deemed to havesufficient funds available for use, and can decide to authorize thepayment transaction. Computer system 170 and/or financial transactionplatform 575 can decide to authorize the payment transaction based onother information, such as the consumer's credit report or based on pastusage of the proxy card or the payment account. When computer system 170and/or financial transaction platform 575 decide to authorize thepayment transaction, computer system 170 and/or financial transactionplatform 575 can send the authorization to the object identifier, or canalternately send the authorization to financial system 160, which canrelay the authorization to the object identifier.

After step 645, the consumer can choose to change the payment accountused to obtain funds for the payment, as is discussed further below.

At step 650, computer system 170 and/or financial transaction platform575 causes funds to be transferred from the first payment account to anaccount associated with the payee. When the consumer does not change thepayment account, step 650 occurs. Computer system 170 and/or financialtransaction platform 575 at step 645 sent transaction information andpayment account information to financial system 160, and financialsystem 160 authorized the payment. The action of causing the paymentauthorization, unless prevented from taking effect, such as by cancelingthe payment, causes funds to be transferred from the first paymentaccount to an account associated with the payee. The transactioninformation includes an amount corresponding to the amount to betransferred as well as information regarding the payee sufficient toallow identification of the account associated with the payee into whichthe funds are to be transferred. The payment account informationincludes information regarding the payment account sufficient to allowidentification of the account to facilitate the transfer of funds fromthe account.

At step 655, computer system 170 and/or financial transaction platform575 causes information associated with the payment accounts to bedisplayed. Step 655 can occur after steps 620-630, 645, or after POSsystem 158 receives the authorization for the purchase. In a firstexample scenario, the consumer completed the purchase and left themerchant's place of business with the purchased goods. Upon arrivinghome, the consumer decides to change the payment account to use for thepayment. The consumer initiates communications with computer system 170and/or financial transaction platform 575 using a computing device, suchas the consumer's smartphone, tablet computer, or desktop computer.Computer system 170 and/or financial transaction platform 575 obtainsthe listing of payment accounts associated with the proxy card byaccessing the database, as in step 625.

Computer system 170 and/or financial transaction platform 575 sends orcauses to be sent the listing of payment accounts to the consumer'scomputing device, as is illustrated at display 800 of FIG. 8A anddisplay 801 of FIG. 8B. Display 800 illustrates an example of a displayin a scenario where computer system 170 and/or financial transactionplatform 575 initially selected the payment account (step 630) in thebackground and the consumer may be unaware of this backgroundprocessing. Display 801 illustrates an example of a display where theresults of step 630 (e.g., the initial selection of the VISA account touse for the $100.00 purchase at Bob's Steak House) are brought to theconsumer's attention via display 801, or where the consumer made theinitial selection of the payment account (steps 635-640).

The information displayed or otherwise output by the computing devicecan further include information related to the transaction, such as theamount of the transaction and information related to the payee, such asthe name of the merchant with whom the consumer did the transaction. Theinformation can also include a notification of a time limit for changingthe payment account associated with the proxy card to use for thetransaction. For example, the time limit can be a predefined amount oftime or time period (e.g., “You have until 7:00 pm tonight to change theaccount used for this purchase” or “You have 60 minutes left to changethe account used for this purchase”). The predefined time limit can bebased on knowledge or estimates of delays inherent in the financialsystem that processes the payment. For example, when the financialsystem batches payment transactions for processing, the time limit canbe based on when the financial system begins to batch process thepayment transactions. The time limit can be other predefined amounts oftime or time periods, one example being a time limit that the companythat offers the proxy card sets based on what the company deems to be areasonable time limit.

In addition to being a predefined amount of time or time period, thetime limit can be variable based on, for example, when the payment isactually processed. The financial system may take some time, such asseveral hours, to batch process all the payment transactions. In thisexample, even after the batch processing starts, the consumer can changethe payment account used for the transaction as long as computer system170 and/or financial transaction platform 575 can prevent thatparticular payment transaction from being batch processed, such as bycanceling the payment and having the cancellation take effect before thepayment is processed (i.e., the transfer of funds has occurred). Theconsumer uses the computing device to select a second payment account touse for the payment, and from which funds for the payment are to betaken. The change will be accepted by computer system 170 and/orfinancial transaction platform 575 as long as computer system 170 and/orfinancial transaction platform 575 can prevent obtaining the funds fromthe first payment account.

In a second example scenario, the consumer takes the goods to a checkoutstand where the merchant reads his proxy card using a card reader toinitiate a payment for the goods (step 620). Shortly after his proxycard is read, the consumer's mobile device displays an indication toselect a payment account associated with the proxy card to use for thetransaction (step 655, display 800 of FIG. 8A). The consumer taps thescreen of his mobile device to indicate a selection of a paymentaccount, and the payment is processed using the selected payment account(step 660-665). However, while this is going on, steps 615. 620, 625,630, and 645 all happen, in some embodiments transparently to theconsumer. Right after the consumer's proxy card was read (step 620),computer system 170 and/or financial transaction platform 575 selected apayment account associated with the proxy card (steps 625-630), andobtained an authorization for the purchase using the selected paymentcard (step 645). The consumer does not need to be aware, or evenpossibly is not aware, that these steps (i.e., steps 625, 630, and 645)are happening using the payment account selected in step 630.

In some embodiments, at step 655 computer system 170 and/or financialtransaction platform 575 cause a portion of the association informationthat is relevant to the transaction to be displayed. Some of the itemsassociated with the proxy card may not be relevant to the transaction.In a first example a proxy card is associated with payment accountsassociated with a VISA card, an American Express card, a debit card, anda gift card. At step 655, the consumer's mobile device displays thesefour accounts to enable the consumer to indicate which account to usefor the transaction (label 800, FIG. 8A). In a second example, the proxycard is associated with the same four payment accounts. However, in thisexample, the proxy card is being used at a merchant that does not acceptAmerican Express cards, and the gift card is not valid at the merchant.At step 655, the consumer's mobile device does not display anyinformation related to the American Express account, due to the merchantnot accepting this card, and also does not display any informationrelated to the gift card, due to the gift card not being valid at themerchant (label 802, FIG. 8C).

As another example, identification such as a driver's license can beassociated with the proxy card, and the identification may not berelevant when the proxy card is being used to pay for a purchase, asdriver's licenses may not be usable to make a payment. In this example,the portion of the association information displayed does not includeany information regarding the driver's license.

In another example, some payment accounts associated with the proxy cardmay not have sufficient funds available for use for the transaction. Thetransaction may involve a payment of $100, and one of the paymentaccounts may only have $50 of funds available for use. In this example,the portion of the association information displayed does not includeany information regarding the payment accounts that do not havesufficient funds available for use for the payment (e.g., the paymentaccount with only $50 of funds available will not be displayed when theproxy card is being used for a transaction involving a payment of $100).

In another example, some payment accounts associated with the proxy cardmay not be accepted for a transaction. For example, a pre-paid publictransportation fee card may only be accepted by the publictransportation agency that issued the card. When the consumer is usingthe proxy card to purchase goods at a merchant, the portion of theassociation information displayed does not include any informationregarding the payment account associated with the pre-paid publictransportation fee card, as this account cannot be used at the merchant.

In another example, some brand or types of payment accounts associatedwith the proxy card may not be accepted for a transaction. For example,a merchant may not accept credit cards at all, or may not accept debitcards at all, or may not accept a certain brand of credit card (e.g.,American Express® credit cards). When the consumer is using the proxycard to purchase goods at the merchant, the portion of the associationinformation displayed does not include any information regarding paymentaccounts associated with credit cards when the merchant does not acceptcredit cards. The displayed information similarly does not include anyinformation regarding payment accounts associated with debit cards whenthe merchant does not accept debit cards, and does not include anyinformation associated with a certain brand of credit card when themerchant does not accept that brand of credit card.

In another example, a stored value card associated with the proxy cardmay not be valid at certain merchants. For example, a pre-paid gift cardpurchased for Bob's Steak House may only be valid at Bob's Steak House.When the consumer goes to any business other than Bob's Steak House, theportion of the association information displayed does not include anyinformation regarding the payment account associated with the pre-paidgift card for Bob's Steak House.

Step 660 includes receiving selection information indicating a selectionof a second payment account. Step 660 can occur after step 645 or 655.After the consumer uses his computing device to select the paymentaccount to use for the payment, the computing device can send selectioninformation to computer system 170 and/or financial transaction platform575, where the selection information indicates a selection of a firstpayment account to use for the payment.

At step 665 computer system 170 and/or financial transaction platform575 causes funds to be transferred from the second payment account to anaccount associated with the payee. Computer system 170 and/or financialtransaction platform 575 sends the transaction information and thesecond payment account information to financial system 160. This is doneto cause the funds for the payment to come from the second paymentaccount rather than the first payment account. Financial system 160 canauthorize the payment using the second payment account, and can send apayment authorization to computer system 170 and/or financialtransaction platform 575. Computer system 170 and/or financialtransaction platform 575 can also prevent funds for the payment frombeing obtained from the first payment account. For example, computersystem 170 and/or financial transaction platform 575 can sendinformation to financial system 160 that causes the payment and/or thepayment authorization to be canceled.

FIG. 6B is a flow chart illustrating an example of a method forprocessing a payment made using a proxy card. At step 670, a mobiledevice receives a message indicating to select a financial accountassociated with a proxy object, such as a proxy card. At step 635,computer system 170 and/or financial transaction platform 575 sends amessage to the consumer's mobile device that causes a portion of theassociation information to be displayed. In some embodiments, at step670, the consumer's mobile device receives the message. The messageincludes a listing of a portion of the payment accounts associated withthe proxy card. The description of step 655 discusses other portions ofthe association information that can be displayed. In response to themessage, the mobile device displays a portion of the payment accountsand prompts the consumer to select a payment account to use for thepayment, as is illustrated at display 800 of FIG. 8A.

At step 655, computer system 170 and/or financial transaction platform575 can send a message to the consumer's mobile device that causes aportion of the association information to be displayed. In someembodiments, at step 670, the consumer's mobile device receives themessage. The message includes a listing of a portion of the paymentaccounts associated with the proxy card. The portion of the paymentaccounts that can be listed can be all of the payment accountsassociated with the proxy card. The description of step 655 discussesother portions of the association information that can be displayed. Inresponse to the message, the mobile device displays a portion of thepayment accounts and indicates to the consumer to select a paymentaccount to use for the payment, as is illustrated at display 800 of FIG.8A.

At step 672, the consumer's mobile device inputs an indication of aselection of a financial account associated with the proxy object. Theconsumer can indicate a selection, such as by touching the VISA box ofdisplay 800 to indicate a selection of the VISA account. The mobiledevice can input this indication.

At step 675, a mobile device sends a message indicating a selection of afirst financial account associated with the proxy card. After the mobiledevice inputs the indication of the consumer's selection, the mobiledevice sends a message to computer system 170 and/or financialtransaction platform 575 indicating the selection. In some embodiments,the method continues at step 640, where computer system 170 and/orfinancial transaction platform 575 receives the message. In someembodiments, the method continues at step 660, where computer system 170and/or financial transaction platform 575 receive the message.

At step 680, the consumer's mobile device receives a message indicatingthat a different financial account associated with the proxy card can beselected. At step 655, computer system 170 and/or financial transactionplatform 575 sends a message to the consumer's mobile device that causesthe mobile device to display information associated with the paymentaccounts. At step 680, the consumer's mobile device receives themessage. Earlier at step 645, an authorization for the payment wasobtained using the first payment account. However no funds have yet beentransferred. Because the funds have not yet been transferred, thepayment using the first payment account can still be stopped, and adifferent financial account associated with the proxy card can be usedfor the payment.

The message that is received at step 680 can include a list of accountsassociated with the proxy card that can be used for the payment in placeof the first payment account. The message can further containinformation such as a description of the transaction (e.g., “Thefollowing account was used for your $100.00 purchase at Bob's SteakHouse”), and information regarding a time limit or time window forchanging the payment account to be used for the payment (e.g., “You haveuntil 7:00 pm tonight to change the account used for this purchase”).The mobile device can display this information, as is illustrated bydisplay 801 of FIG. 8B.

At step 685, the consumer's mobile device sends a message indicating aselection of a second financial account associated with the proxy card.While step 685 provides an opportunity for the consumer to select adifferent payment account to use for the payment, the consumer need notselect a different payment account. If the consumer does not select adifferent payment account, the method continues at step 650, where thepayment is processed using funds from the first payment account. If theconsumer selects a different payment account, the mobile device sends amessage to computer system 170 and/or financial transaction platform 575indicating the consumer's selection. The method continues at step 660,where computer system 170 and/or financial transaction platform 575receives the message.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a method for selectinga payment account to use to pay for a financial transaction. Allactions, decisions, determinations, and the like which are taken orreceived by financial transaction platform 575 in the example method ofFIG. 7 can also be taken or received by computer system 170.

At step 705, a financial transaction platform enables multiple merchants(also sellers and payees) to engage in financial transactions withcustomers (also buyers and payers). Referring to the embodiment of FIG.5A, a financial transaction platform, such as financial transactionplatform 575, can process electronic payments made by the customers tothe merchants, thereby enabling the merchants to engage in financialtransactions with the customers. For example, financial transactionplatform 575 can process electronic payments made by a customer using apayment card, such as payment card 505. The customer or the merchantswipe payment card 505 through card reader 155 of POS system 158A, andPOS system 158A sends payment card and transaction information tofinancial transaction platform 575. Financial transaction platform 575causes funds for the financial transaction (i.e., to pay for or make apayment associated with the financial transaction) to be transferredfrom an account associated with payment card 505 to an accountassociated with the merchant.

At step 710, financial transaction platform 575 receives transactioninformation associated with a financial transaction. A customer engagesin a financial transaction with a merchant. The financial transaction isassociated with a transaction, such as the sale of goods, the providingof services, and/or the providing of rentals, as well as for otherpurposes or associated with other occurrences. POS system 158 of FIG. 5Ais used for the transaction and obtains the transaction information. Thetransaction information can include, among other information, the amountof the sale, the amount charged for providing the services, the amountcharged for providing the rentals, a tip amount associated with thetransaction, and/or a listing of items associated with the transaction,such as a listing of items sold or rented, or a listing of servicesprovided. POS system 158 sends the transaction information associatedwith the financial transaction to financial system 160, and financialsystem 160 sends the transaction information to financial transactionplatform 575, which receives the transaction information. In anotherexample, POS system 158A sends the transaction information associatedwith the financial transaction to financial transaction platform 575,which receives the transaction information.

At step 715, financial transaction platform 575 receives proxy objectinformation, the proxy object being associated with multiple paymentaccounts. Step 715 can occur after step 705 and before or after step710. Referring to the embodiment of FIG. 5A, the proxy object of theexample method of FIG. 7 is proxy card 150. Financial transactionplatform 575 receives the proxy card information associated with proxycard 150. A customer provides proxy card 150, which is associated withmultiple payment accounts, to the merchant. The merchant swipes proxycard 150 through card reader 155, and card reader 155 obtains proxy cardinformation from the magnetic strip of proxy card 150. Card reader 158sends the proxy card information to POS system 158 and POS system 158sends the proxy card information to financial system 160. Financialsystem 160 sends the proxy card information to financial transactionplatform 575, which receives the proxy card information. In anotherexample, POS system 158A sends the proxy card information to financialtransaction platform 575, which receives the proxy card information. Theproxy card information and the transaction information can be sent aspart of one message.

At step 720, financial transaction platform 575 accesses a databasebased on the proxy card information to determine the multiple paymentaccounts associated with the proxy card. Step 720 can occur after step715 and before or after step 710. The database contains an associationof proxy card information with the payment accounts that are associatedwith the proxy card. The customer can have linked or associated theproxy card with multiple payment accounts using the database.

For example, the database can associate proxy card information with themultiple payment accounts that are associated with proxy card 150, andthis association was previously created by the customer. Financialtransaction platform 575 accesses the database. The proxy cardinformation, in this example the account number which is part of theproxy card information, is used as an index into the database. In someembodiments, the proxy card information goes through a transformationbefore it is used as an index into the database. In such a case, thedatabase access is based on the proxy card information in that it isbased on a transformation of the proxy card information. The databasereturns the payment accounts associated with the proxy card, andfinancial transaction platform 575 receives information associated withthe multiple payment accounts.

At step 725, financial transaction platform 575 selects a paymentaccount to use for the financial transaction by applying a policy. Step725 can occur after steps 715 or 720. Financial transaction platform 575applies a policy to select the payment account to use for the financialtransaction, for example selecting the payment account to use to make apayment associated with the financial transaction.

In some embodiments, the policy can be customized by the customer. In afirst example, the customer logs in to a website of the entity thatprovides the proxy card and customizes the policy. The customercustomizes the policy by setting a first payment account as the toppriority account to use, setting a second payment account as the secondpriority payment account to use, etc. In a second example, the customerinstalls an application on his mobile device, and uses the applicationto customize the policy. The customer uses the application to customizethe policy by setting the first payment account as the top priorityaccount, setting the second payment account as the second prioritypayment account to use, etc. In a third example, the customer sends atext message or email to customize the policy. The customer customizesthe policy by sending a text message to a particular phone number or anemail to a particular email address that indicates to set a firstpayment account as the top priority account, to set a second paymentaccount as the second priority payment account, etc.

In some embodiments, the policy is customized for the customer, such asby financial transaction platform 575 or computer system 170. Thecustomization of the policy can be based on input of the customer, suchas preferences of the customer. For example: the customer may prefer touse a particular payment account at all times; the customer may preferto use a payment account that is associated with an incentive program,such as a credit card associated with an American Airline's frequentflyer program; the customer may prefer to use pre-paid gift cards; thecustomer may prefer to use the account into which the customer'semployer direct deposits the customer's paychecks, such as thecustomer's primary checking account; the customer may prefer to selectthe payment account to use for each transaction.

The customization can include multiple levels of customization andcustomization that includes conditionals, among other types. Forexample, the customer may prefer to use pre-paid gift cards as thehighest priority, and may use debit cards as the second priority. Inthis case, the debit cards will not be used until pre-paid gift cardfunds are exhausted. As a second example, the customer may customize thepolicy such that: if the payee is a grocer, use a first payment account;if the payee is a gas station, use a second payment account, unless thepayee is Exxon, in which case use a third payment account. As a thirdexample, the customer may customize the policy such that: AmericanAirlines miles are optimized until 20,000 miles are reached; once 20,000miles are reached, select pre-paid gift cards as the highest priority.In some embodiments, the policy is implemented via an algorithm.

In some embodiments, the policy can be based on the funds available foruse from the payment account. For example, a customer can decide topurchase a television for $1,000, and can use proxy card 150 to pay forthe financial transaction associated with the purchase. Proxy card 150can have three associated credit cards, with the first card having $100remaining until the first card's credit limit is reached, the secondcard having $500 remaining until the second card's credit limit isreached, and the third card having $1,500 remaining until the thirdcard's credit limit is reached. The $100, $500, and $1,500 represent thefunds that are available to use respectively from the first, second, andthird credit cards.

Financial transaction platform 575 has access to data representing theseremaining credit limits and available fund amounts. For example,financial transaction platform 575 can communicate with financial system160, and financial system 160 provides information regarding the creditlimit, the available credit, and/or the funds available for each creditcard. Financial transaction platform 575 uses the credit limit,available credit, and/or funds available information in selecting thepayment account to use for the financial transaction.

In another example, the customer provides information regarding thecredit limit of each credit card associated with proxy card 150, andfinancial transaction platform 575 maintains a calculation of the fundsavailable for use. When proxy card 150 is used, per step 710, financialtransaction platform 575 receives transaction information associatedwith financial transaction involving proxy card 150. By summing theamount paid for each financial transaction by each payment cardassociated with proxy card 150, financial transaction platform 575 candetermine the outstanding balance for each card. Based on the creditlimit of each payment account provided by the customer, financialtransaction platform 575 determines the credit remaining until thecredit limit is reached by subtracting the outstanding balance for agiven card from the credit limit, thereby determining the fundsavailable for use from the given card.

Financial transaction platform 575, having access to data representingthe funds available for use from each of the three associated creditcards, determines that only the third card, has enough funds availableto pay the $1,000 cost of the television. By applying such a policy,financial transaction platform 575 selects the third card to pay for thefinancial transaction associated with the purchase of the television,based on the third card having sufficient funds available to pay thepurchase price of the television.

In some embodiments, the policy can be based on the type of the paymentaccount. For example, the policy can select a first type of card, suchas gift cards, before selecting any other type of card. The policy canfurther select a second type of card, for example ATM cards, beforeselecting a third type of card, for example credit cards. Examples oftypes of payment accounts include: a payment account associated with aparticular brand, for example an account associated with a VISA brandedcredit card; a payment account associated with a particular issuer, forexample an account associated with a Chase Bank issued credit card; apayment account accepted by a particular merchant, for example anaccount associated with an Exxon credit card accepted by Exxon; apayment account associated with any of a credit card, an automatedteller machine (ATM) card, a debit card, a pre-paid gift card, or afleet card, for example a payment account associated with a credit card.

In some embodiments, the policy can be based on an incentive programassociated with the payment account. The policy can select a paymentaccount based on, for example, obtaining points for a frequent flyerprogram. The policy may be customized in this way because a customerwants to use frequent flyer program points for travel for an upcomingvacation. Examples of an incentive program include a rewards program, apoints program, a mileage program, a frequent flyer program, a travelrewards program, an experiential rewards program, a hotel rewardsprogram, a cash back reward program, a restaurant rewards program, and aloyalty program, among others. In an example, the policy can be based onoptimizing or maximizing incentive program points, such as reward pointsfor a rewards program. Financial transaction platform 575 determineswhich cards can be used to obtain reward points for the reward program.When multiple cards can be used, financial transaction platform 575determines which card would obtain the maximum reward points if used.The selection of the payment card is based on optimizing or maximizingthe reward points for the purchase, such as by selecting the paymentaccount associated with the payment card that would obtain the maximumreward points if used.

The following description expands on the above example, for anembodiment where the customer can customize the policy. The customercustomizes the policy with the goal of obtaining American Airlinesmiles. Proxy card 150 has in this example an associated credit card thatprovides one mile of American Airlines mileage credit for each dollarspent with the associated credit card. The credit card may also have aprogram running where the mileage credits are doubled (i.e., two milescredit for each dollar spent) if the card is used to purchase $200 ingroceries at a certain store, for example, Safeway. Financialtransaction platform 575 sends a message to the customer making thecustomer aware of this double mileage program, and the customer decidesto shop at Safeway for the next several weeks. Financial transactionplatform 575 selects the American Airlines credit card to use when thecustomer uses proxy card 150 at Safeway until $200 in groceries arepurchased, thereby triggering the double mileage program. In this case,the selection of the payment account is based on both an incentiveprogram (i.e., selecting a card based on an associated American Airlinesmileage program), as well as on a merchant (i.e., selecting a card basedon the merchant being Safeway in order to cause the triggering of thedouble mileage program).

In some embodiments, the policy or application of the policy is based ona merchant category code, or a combination of an incentive program and amerchant category code (MCC). A MCC is a four digit number assigned to abusiness by credit card companies. The MCC is used to classify thebusiness by the type of goods or services that it provides. For example,“5411” is the MCC for Grocery Stores and Supermarkets. The precedingexample might be changed such that double miles are provided forpurchasing $200 of groceries, not at Safeway, but at merchants with aMCC of “5411” (i.e., at Grocery Stores and Supermarkets). In this case,financial transaction platform 575 selects the American Airlines creditcard to use when proxy card 150 is used at a merchant with a MCC of“5411” until $200 in groceries are purchased, thereby triggering thedouble mileage program.

In this example, the selection of the payment account is based on bothan incentive program (i.e., selecting a card based on an associatedAmerican Airlines mileage program), as well as on a MCC (i.e., selectinga card based on the MCC being “5411”, indicating that the merchant is aGrocery Store or Supermarket). The selection of the payment account cansimilarly be based on just the MCC. For example, a customer cancustomize the policy such that a gasoline credit card is chosen forpurchases made at a merchant with an MCC indicating that the merchantsells gasoline.

In some embodiments, the selection of the payment account is based on atiming parameter. Example timing parameters include the time, date, dayof the week, week, month, and year. For example: a customer cancustomize the policy such that a certain credit card is selected forpurchases made on a date (i.e., Jan. 10, 2014); on a day of the week(i.e., on Tuesdays); during a week (i.e., during the first week ofFebruary or the sixth week of the year); during a month (i.e., duringFebruary); or during a year (i.e., during 2014).

In some embodiments, the selection of the payment account is based on anindication of the customer. For example, the customer can indicate apreference to indicate the payment account to use for each transaction,and the policy is customized based on this indication. The database ofstep 720 can include contact information for a mobile device of thecustomer that is associated with the proxy card, such as in internetprotocol (IP) address or phone number of the mobile device. Financialtransaction platform 575, based on the contact information, causesinformation associated with at least one of the payment accountassociated with the proxy card to be displayed on the mobile device, asis illustrated at display 800 of FIG. 8A. The customer indicates whichpayment account to use, such as by touching the VISA selector of display800. The mobile device sends this indication to financial transactionplatform 575, and financial transaction platform 575 selects the VISAaccount based on the customer indicating to use the VISA account.

In some embodiments, the selection of the payment account is based onpast payment account selections and/or usage. For example, a customermay indicate to use whatever was the last payment card used, or whateverwas the last payment card used at that merchant, or whatever was thelast payment card used at the type of merchant. The type of the merchantcan be indicated by the MCC code of the merchant, with merchants havingthe same MCC being of the same type.

At step 730, financial transaction platform 575 sends informationassociated with the payment account to a financial system to cause fundsfor the financial transaction to be obtained from the payment account.Step 730 can occur after any of steps 715-725 or step 740. Referring tothe embodiment of FIG. 5A, financial transaction platform 575 sendsinformation associated with the payment account to financial system 160.The information associated with the payment account includes informationobtained from the database during step 720, and includes payment accountinformation and transaction information. The sending of the paymentaccount information and the transaction information to financial system160 causes financial system 160 to obtain funds from the payment accountfor the financial transaction.

At step 735, financial transaction platform 575 causes the funds for thefinancial transaction to be deposited in an account associated with themerchant. Step 735 can occur after any of steps 715-730. The account canbe, for example, the merchant's bank account at a bank or a credit unionor another financial institution. Alternatively, the account can be afinancial account associated with financial transaction platform 575,where the funds can be held in trust for the benefit of the merchant.For example, the financial account associated with financial transactionplatform 575 can be a bank account at a bank or a credit union oranother financial institution where the merchant's funds are held intrust for the benefit of the merchant.

At step 740, financial transaction platform 575 selects additionalpayment accounts associated with the proxy card to use for the financialtransaction by applying the policy. Step 740 can occur after any ofsteps 725-735. A customer decides to purchase a television for $1,000,and uses proxy card 150 to pay for the financial transaction associatedwith the purchase. Proxy card 150, in this example, has three associatedpayment accounts, with the first account having $100 remaining until itscredit limit is reached, the second account having $500 remaining untilits credit limit is reached, and the third account having $400 remaininguntil its credit limit is reached. Financial transaction platform 575determines that no payment account has sufficient funds available to paythe purchase price of the television.

Financial transaction platform 575 determines that sufficient funds canbe obtained from the combination of the three payment accounts to coverthe cost of the television purchase. Financial transaction platform 575determines that the $100 of funds available from the first paymentaccount, along with the $500 of funds available from the second paymentaccount and the $400 of funds available from the third payment account,can be used to pay the $1,000 cost to purchase the television. In thisexample, an initial payment account of the three credit payment accountscan be selected during step 725. For example, the first payment accountcan be selected during step 725, and step 730 can include causing the$100 in funds from the first payment account to be obtained from anaccount associated with the first payment account.

At step 740, financial transaction platform 575 selects the second andthird payment accounts to use for the financial transaction by applyingthe policy. The policy, in this example, being to use multiple paymentaccounts when funds/credit limit available in any single account areinsufficient to pay for the financial transaction, and the creditlimit/funds available from the multiple accounts associated with theproxy card are sufficient to pay for the financial transaction. Thepolicy can select additional payment accounts for other reasons as well.For example, to obtain rewards points from the multiple paymentaccounts, or to spend just enough with a first payment account totrigger a reward, such as adequate frequent flyer miles to obtain travelfor a vacation, and selecting a second payment account to pay for theremainder of the financial transaction.

At step 745, financial transaction platform 575 causes the funds to payfor the financial transaction to be obtained from the selectedadditional payment accounts. Causing the funds to be obtained from theadditional payment accounts can be done in a manner similar to step 730,but done for each of the additional payment accounts. The sum of thefunds obtained from the selected initial payment account and theselected additional payment accounts can correspond to the amount of thepayment associated with the financial transaction.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating operations of an example of a methodfor selecting a payment account based on location information. Themethod can involve a proxy card, such as proxy card 1100 of FIG. 11.Proxy card 1100 is a proxy card that includes a substantially flatsubstrate 1105, on which are affixed or embedded magnetic stripeemulator 1110 and integrated circuit 1120 containing processor 1115,non-volatile memory 1125, and communication interface 1140. Substrate1105 can be made of the same or similar material as any ordinary creditcard, such as plastic. A proxy card can also have other configurations.In various embodiments, communication interface 1140 can communicate viaany of various technologies, such as a cellular network, a short-rangewireless network, a wireless local area network (WLAN), etc. Thecellular network can be any of various types, such as code divisionmultiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), globalsystem for mobile communications (GSM), long term evolution (LTE), 3G,4G, etc. The short-range wireless network can also be any of varioustypes, such as Bluetooth low energy (BLE), near field communication(NFC), etc. The WLAN can similarly be any of various types, such as thevarious types of IEEE 802.11 networks, among others.

As an overview of an example of the method, the example starts with theproxy card, or a computer system such as a mobile device, obtaininglocation information indicating the location of the proxy card. Alocation can take various forms, as indicated by the locationinformation. For example, the location information can indicate aspecific geographic location, or a merchant, or a merchant that acceptsonly VISA® credit cards. The location information can come in variousforms, such as GPS coordinates indicating a specific geographiclocation, or a message sent by a POS system identifying the merchant,indicating that the location is at a place of business of the identifiedmerchant. The proxy card or the computer system can select a paymentaccount to use based on the location information, such as selecting agift card that is accepted by the merchant when the location informationindicates a place of business of the merchant. The proxy card, or thecomputer system, access memory or another type of storage to obtainaccount information to use to process the payment based on the selectedpayment account. When the proxy card includes a magnetic stripeemulator, the processor of the proxy card or the computer system causethe magnetic stripe emulator to emulate a magnetic stripe encoded withthe account information. The proxy card is then swiped though a cardreader to initiate a payment using the selected payment account.

Three examples will be discussed to facilitate explanation. Theoperations of the first example are performed by a payment card, whichin this first example is a proxy card, such as proxy card 1100. Theoperations of the second example are performed by a computer system, andmore specifically, by a mobile device. The operations of the thirdexample are performed by a remote computer system (i.e., a computersystem remote to the location of the proxy card).

The first example of the method of FIG. 9 begins at step 905 with theproxy card obtaining location information, such as location informationindicating the location of the proxy card. The proxy card is associatedwith data including a credit card, a debit card, a gift card, and adriver's license. While location information can indicate a specificgeographic location, such as global positioning system (GPS) coordinatesreceived by communications interface 1140, the location information canalso convey other types of location related information. For example,the location information can indicate: a specific merchant, such asWalmart®; a type of a merchant, such as a gas station or a coffee shop;a merchant having a merchant category code (MCC) with a certain value; amerchant with a certain characteristic, such as one that only acceptsVISA credit cards; a location of a transmitter such as a cellularnetwork transceiver or a WLAN transceiver; a zip code; a city; a county;a state; or a country, among other possibilities.

The circuitry embedded in or affixed to the proxy card, for example aprocessor embedded in the proxy card, can obtain location informationindicating the location of the proxy card in any of various ways. Otherdevices, such as the mobile device of the second example, can similarlyobtain location information. As a first example, the locationinformation can be obtained by wirelessly receiving an MCC code from aPOS system, or via a card swipe with a card reader associated with thePOS system. The MCC code value indicates the category of merchant atwhich the proxy card is located (e.g., an MCC code of “5411” indicatesthat the proxy card is located at a grocery store or a supermarket). Asanother example, the location information can be a code sent by the POSsystem that identifies the merchant, such as a merchant identificationnumber or alpha-numeric character string that can include symbols and/orother types of characters. The code indicates that the proxy card is atthe merchant (i.e., at a place of business of the merchant). As anotherexample, the location information can be any message or data receivedvia short-range wireless transmission from a POS system of a merchant.Receiving the data sent in this manner, such as via BLE or NFC,indicates that the proxy card is at the merchant. As another example,the location information can be data received via wireless transmissionthat indicates crossing a geo-fence into an area associated with amerchant, which indicates that the proxy card is at the merchant. Ageo-fence is a virtual perimeter of a geographic area and can bedynamically generated, such as a radius around a store or pointlocation, a predefined set of boundaries, such as a boundary thatfollows the external walls of a business, etc.

As another example, the location information can be any data thatindicates that the proxy card (and accordingly the customer) istraveling, such as by indicating that the proxy card is more than apredefined distance from his place of residence. For example, thelocation information can include a zip code, an indication of a city,county, state, or country; a signal from a cellular network transceiver,etc. that indicates that the proxy card is with a customer who istraveling. A signal from a cellular network transceiver can indicatethat the proxy card is with a customer who is traveling. For example, amessage from the transceiver can indicate an identity of thetransceiver. The location of the transceiver can be determined beperforming a database lookup based on the identity, and the location anindicate that the proxy card is with a customer that is traveling.

As another example, several pieces of location information can becombined to determine the location of the proxy card. A message receivedfrom a POS system during a purchase transaction can indicate that theproxy card is at a merchant, such as Walmart. A transmission receivedfrom a cellular network transceiver can indicate that the proxy card isnear the geographic location of the transceiver, as discussed above. Aprocessor in the proxy card can determine which Walmart store the proxycard is at based on the location of the transceiver, or the proxy cardcan communicate with a computer system that can make this determination.

Another way to obtain the location relating to the proxy card is from amobile device. For example, a customer has a proxy card and a mobiledevice that he carries most of the time, such that the mobile device istypically located at essentially the same location as the proxy card(e.g., both are carried on the person of the customer). In thisscenario, the mobile device can determine its location, such as by usingany of the multiple techniques discussed above related to step 905. Forexample, the mobile device can determine its location using GPS, and candetermine that it is within a geo-fence associated with a merchantindicating that the mobile device, as well as the proxy card, is at themerchant. Alternatively, the mobile device can determine its locationusing GPS and can correlate that location with a merchant's place ofbusiness, such as by correlating the GPS location with the merchant'slocation using a mapping service such as Google Maps®. As anotheralternative, the mobile device can communicate using a wireless localarea network (WLAN) of a merchant, and can determine based on the WLANthat the mobile device, as well as the proxy card, is at a place ofbusiness of the merchant. For example, the mobile device can determinethat a Wi-Fi network, one example of a WLAN, operated by Starbucks® isavailable, and can thereby determine that the mobile device, as well asthe proxy card, are at Starbucks. Examples of WLANs include the varioustypes of IEEE 802.11 networks.

In each of the above examples, once the mobile device determines itslocation, it can wirelessly communicate the location information to theproxy card, such as via BLE, NFC, or cellular wireless communication. Asthe above discussions indicate, there are a multitude of ways for aproxy card, a mobile device, or a computer system to obtain locationinformation.

Next, at step 910, the circuitry embedded in the proxy card selects apayment card to use based on the location information. As a firstexample, the circuitry can select a VISA credit card payment accountwhen the location information indicates that the proxy card is at amerchant that only accepts VISA credit cards. As another example, thecircuitry can select a gift card payment account when the locationinformation indicates that the proxy card is at a merchant that acceptsthe gift card. As another example, the circuitry can select a paymentcard that provides for a discount when used at a grocery store when thelocation information indicates that the proxy card is at a merchanthaving an MCC code value that indicates that the merchant is a grocer.As another example, the circuitry can select a payment card that thecustomer prefers to use when traveling, such as a payment card providedby the customer's employer, or a card that the customer indicated to usewhile traveling.

Alternately, a computer system, such as a mobile device, can select apayment account for the proxy card to use based on the locationinformation. Prior to the selection, the mobile device can be used toassociate the payment account information with the proxy card. Thedescription of FIG. 10 discusses how the proxy card can be associatedwith payment cards. Using techniques similar to those described aboverelated to step 910, the mobile device can select the payment accountfor the proxy card to use based on the location information. The mobiledevice can wirelessly send account information for the payment accountto the proxy card, and the proxy card can select the payment accountbased on the mobile device's selection of the payment account, which wasbased on the location information.

Next, at step 915, the circuitry in the proxy card can access a storagedevice, such as the non-volatile memory in the proxy card, to obtainaccount information for the payment account. When the payment account isselected by a computer system such as the mobile device, the computersystem may alternately send the account information for the paymentaccount to the proxy card. Next, at step 920 the circuitry causes theproxy card to be configured based on the account information. In someembodiments, the proxy card includes a magnetic stripe emulator, and thecircuitry causes the magnetic stripe emulator to emulate a magneticstripe encoded with the account information by sending a signal to themagnetic stripe emulator. The magnetic stripe emulator, in response tothe signal, emulates a magnetic stripe encoded with the accountinformation.

One type of magnetic stripe emulator uses small coils of an electricalconductor encapsulated within the card body. When a current is passedthrough a coil in a certain direction, a magnetic field of a certainpolarity is created. Changing the direction of the current flow changesthe polarity of the magnetic field. The circuitry sends signals thatcontrol the current flow through each coil, including the direction ofthe current flow. By setting the current flow direction for each coil toa value that corresponds to the magnetic field at a correspondinglocation on a reference magnetic stripe, the collection of magneticfields from each of the small coils can emulate the reference magneticstripe. Once the magnetic stripe is encoded in this way, swiping theproxy card through a card reader enables the card reader to read theaccount information from the magnetic stripe area of the proxy card.

In the second example of FIG. 9, the operations are performed by acomputer system, such as a mobile device. The second example of themethod of FIG. 9 begins at step 905 with the mobile device obtaininglocation information, such as information indicating the location of theproxy card. The mobile device can obtain the location information usingtechniques similar to those described above related to step 905. Next,at step 910 the mobile device selects a payment account to use based onthe location information. The mobile device can select the paymentaccount to use by using techniques similar to those described aboverelated to step 910, with the mobile device rather than the circuitry onthe proxy card performing the technique. Next, at step 915, the mobiledevice can access a storage device to obtain account information for thepayment account. The mobile device can access storage in the mobiledevice, such as non-volatile memory of the mobile device, or canaccesses remote storage, such as via a cellular network or WLAN.Alternately, the mobile device can send a message to the proxy cardindicating the selected payment account, and the proxy card can accessnon-volatile memory of the proxy card to obtain the account informationfor the payment account.

In embodiments where the proxy card includes magnetic stripe emulator1110, the mobile device can perform step 910. At step 920, the mobiledevice causes the proxy card to be configured based on the accountinformation. The proxy card includes a magnetic stripe emulator, and themobile device sends a message to the proxy card, in response to whichthe circuitry in the proxy card causes the magnetic stripe emulator toemulate a magnetic stripe encoded with the account information. Once themagnetic stripe is encoded in this way, swiping the proxy card through acard reader enables the card reader to read the account information fromthe magnetic stripe area of the proxy card.

In the third example of FIG. 9, the operations are performed by acomputer system remote to the location of the proxy card. The thirdexample of the method of FIG. 9 begins at step 905 with the computersystem obtaining location information, such as information indicatingthe location of the proxy card. The computer system can obtain thelocation information using techniques similar to those described aboverelated to step 905. As a first example, the location information can beobtained by receiving an MCC code from a POS system sent as part ofprocessing a purchase transaction initiated using the proxy card. Asanother example, the location information can be a code sent by the POSsystem, as part of processing a purchase transaction initiated using theproxy card, that identifies the merchant. As another example, the proxycard or the mobile device of the above two examples of FIG. 9 can obtainlocation information in any of the ways discussed above, and can relaythe location information to the computer system.

Further, when the computer system processes payment transactionsinitiated using the proxy card, the computer system can obtain locationinformation in association with processing the transactions. Forexample, the computer system can receive purchase transactioninformation for a round trip flight to a destination that leaves on acertain date and returns on a later date. The computer system can later,during the dates of the trip, receive a message from a POS systemassociated with a purchase transaction initiated using the proxy card.The transaction information can indicate that the proxy card is beingused a Walmart, and the computer system, based on the flightinformation, can determine which Walmart store the proxy card is atbased on the destination of the flight.

Next, at step 910 the computer system selects a payment account to usebased on the location information. The computer system can select thepayment account to use by using techniques similar to those describedabove related to step 910, with the computer system rather than thecircuitry on the proxy card performing the technique. Next, at step 915,the computer system accesses a storage device to obtain accountinformation for the payment account. The computer system accessesstorage in the computer system, such as non-volatile memory of thestorage device, or accesses remote storage, such as via a cellularnetwork or WLAN. Alternately, the computer system can send a message tothe proxy card indicating the selected payment account, and the proxycard can access non-volatile memory of the proxy card to obtain theaccount information for the payment account.

In embodiments where the proxy card includes magnetic stripe emulator1110, the computer system can perform step 920. At step 920, thecomputer system causes the proxy card to be configured based on theaccount information. The computer system sends a message to the proxycard, in response to which the circuitry in the proxy card causesmagnetic stripe emulator 1110 to emulate a magnetic stripe encoded withthe account information. Once the magnetic stripe is encoded in thisway, swiping the proxy card through a card reader enables the cardreader to read the account information from the magnetic stripe area ofthe proxy card.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating operations of a method forassociating a magnetic stripe card with a proxy card, such as proxy card1100. This example method starts with a consumer's mobile devicelaunching an application (step 1005) associated with the proxy card inresponse to the customer tapping the application icon on the screen ofthe mobile device. The consumer attaches a card reader to the mobiledevice and swipes proxy card 1100 through the card reader. Theapplication receives the proxy card information (step 1010) obtainedfrom proxy card 1100 during the card swipe. The consumer then swipes themagnetic stripe card, such as a credit card or a debit card, and theapplication receives the magnetic stripe card information (step 1015).In some embodiments, the application associates the proxy card and themagnetic strip card (step 1020) via a database located either in themobile device or in a remote device. In some embodiments, theapplication associates the proxy card and the magnetic stripe card (step1020) by sending the magnetic stripe card information to proxy card1100, where the information is written to non-volatile memory 1125.Following this same procedure, multiple payment cards and other types ofmagnetic stripe cards, such as a driver's license or a publictransportation pre-paid fee card, can be associated with the proxy cardvia the application.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating a process for encoding a magneticstripe of a magnetic stripe card with data from multiple cards. Themethod involves a magnetic stripe card, such as magnetic stripe card1300 of FIG. 13, which can be a proxy card. An example of the methodstarts with the magnetic stripe card, which in this example is a paymentcard, being used by a consumer to make a payment at a merchant. Thepayment card, or a computer system such as a mobile device, obtainslocation information indicating the location of the payment card. Alocation can take any of various forms, as indicated by the locationinformation. For example, the location information can indicate aspecific geographic location, or a specific merchant, or a merchant thataccepts only VISA® credit cards. The location information can be in anyof various forms, such as GPS coordinates indicating a specificgeographic location, a message sent by a POS system identifying themerchant and indicating that the location is a place of business of theidentified merchant, etc.

The payment card or the computer system can select account data of afirst card based on the location information, such as selecting a giftcard that is accepted by the merchant when the location informationindicates that the payment card is located at a place of business of themerchant. The account data can be data from the magnetic stripe of thefirst card, can be data visible on the front or back of the first card,can be stored association information that represents an associationbetween the first card and the account data, etc. The payment card orthe computer system can further select account data of a second card,and the selection can similarly be based on the location information,such as selecting a loyalty card that provides points when used at themerchant when the location information indicates the payment card islocated at a place of business of the merchant. The payment card or thecomputer system accesses memory or another type of storage to obtainaccount data for both the first card and the second card.

The payment card includes a magnetic stripe emulator, and the processorof the payment card or the computer system can cause the magnetic stripeemulator to be encoded with the card information of both the first cardand the second card, such that once this encoding process is complete,the magnetic stripe emulator is in a state of being encoded with theaccount data of both the first card and the second card. Consequently,the payment card can be swiped through a card reader, and the cardreader can read in a single swipe the account data of both the firstcard and the second card from the magnetic stripe of the payment card.

Three examples will be discussed to facilitate explanation. Theoperations of the first example are performed by a magnetic stripe card,such as magnetic stripe card 1300 in FIG. 13, which is a payment card inthis example. The operations of the second example are performed by acomputer system, and more specifically, by a mobile device such as asmartphone. The operations of the third example are performed by acomputer system, which can be a remote computer system (i.e., a computersystem that is remote with respect to the location of the magneticstripe card).

The first example of the process of FIG. 12 begins at step 1205 with themagnetic stripe card obtaining location information, such as locationinformation indicating the location of the magnetic stripe card. Themagnetic stripe card of this example is a payment card that isassociated with data including a credit card, a debit card, a gift card,and a driver's license. While location information can indicate aspecific geographic location, such as global positioning system (GPS)coordinates received by communications interface 1340, the locationinformation can also convey other types of location related information.For example, the location information can indicate: a specific merchant,such as Walmart®; a type of a merchant, such as a gas station or acoffee shop; a merchant having a merchant category code (MCC) with acertain value; a merchant with a certain characteristic, such as onethat only accepts VISA credit cards; a location of a transmitter such asa cellular network transceiver or a WLAN transceiver; a zip code; acity; a county; a state; or a country, among other possibilities.

Circuitry in the magnetic stripe card, such as processor 1315 orintegrated circuit 1320, as well as circuitry of other devices, such asthe processor of the mobile device of the second example, can obtainlocation information indicating the location of the magnetic stripe cardin various ways. As a first example, the location information can beobtained by wirelessly receiving an MCC code from a nearby POS system,or via a card swipe with a card reader associated with the POS system.The MCC code value indicates the category of merchant at which themagnetic stripe card is located (e.g., an MCC code of “5411” indicatesthat the magnetic stripe card is located at a grocery store or asupermarket).

As another example, the location information can be a code sent by a POSsystem that identifies the merchant, such as a merchant identificationnumber or alpha-numeric character string that can include symbols and/orother types of characters. The code indicates that the magnetic stripecard is at the merchant (i.e., at a place of business of the merchant).As another example, the location information can be any message or datareceived via short-range wireless transmission from a POS system of amerchant. Receiving data sent in this manner, such as via BLE, WiFi, orNFC, indicates that the magnetic stripe card is at the merchant.

As another example, the location information can be data received viawireless transmission that indicates the act of crossing a geo-fenceinto an area associated with a merchant, which indicates that themagnetic stripe card is at the merchant. A geo-fence is a virtualperimeter of a geographic area and can be dynamically generated, such asa radius around a store or point location, a predefined set ofboundaries, such as a boundary that follows the external walls of abusiness, etc. The geo-fence can be generated by, for example, amerchant or a mapping service such as Google Maps. The merchant candefine a perimeter of a geo-fence that identifies a location of hisbusiness. For example, the merchant can define a perimeter that followsthe external walls of a building that is used by his business via aseries of GPS coordinates, or that follows a circle by defining alocation, such as the center of the building via a GPS coordinate, and aradius. The geo-fence can be made available to customers in any ofvarious ways, such as by providing the geo-fence perimeter informationto a mapping service that makes the geo-fence available to users, or byproviding it directly via wireless transmission by a wirelesstransmitter of the business, among others.

As another example, the location information can be any data thatindicates that the magnetic stripe card (and accordingly the customer)is traveling, such as by indicating that the magnetic stripe card ismore than a predefined distance from the customer's place of residence.For example, the location information can include a zip code, anindication of a city, county, state, or country; a signal from acellular network transceiver, etc. that indicates that the magneticstripe card is with a customer who is traveling. A signal from acellular network transceiver can indicate that the magnetic stripe cardis with a customer who is traveling. For example, a message from thetransceiver can indicate an identity of the transceiver. The location ofthe transceiver can be determined by performing a database lookup basedon the identity, and the location can indicate that the magnetic stripecard is with a customer that is traveling. For example, if thetransceiver is located 1000 miles from the customer's home, and thetransceiver has a range of 20 miles, this indicates that the customer isover 980 miles from home and thereby indicates that the customer istraveling.

As another example, several pieces of location information can becombined to determine the location of the magnetic stripe card. Amessage received from a POS system during a purchase transaction canindicate that the magnetic stripe card is at a merchant, such asWalmart. A transmission received from a cellular network transceiver canindicate that the magnetic stripe card is near the geographic locationof the transceiver, as discussed above. Circuitry in the magnetic stripecard can determine which Walmart store the magnetic stripe card is atbased on the location of the transceiver, or the magnetic stripe cardcan communicate with a computer system that can make this determination.

Another way to obtain the location relating to the magnetic stripe cardis from a mobile device. For example, a customer has a magnetic stripecard and a mobile device that he carries most of the time, such that themobile device is typically located at essentially the same location asthe magnetic stripe card (e.g., both are carried on the person of thecustomer). In this scenario, the mobile device can determine itslocation, such as by using any of the multiple techniques discussedabove related to step 1205. For example, the mobile device can determineits location using GPS, and can determine that it is within a geo-fenceassociated with a merchant indicating that the mobile device, as well asthe magnetic stripe card, is at the merchant.

Alternatively, the mobile device can determine its location using GPSand can correlate that location with a merchant's place of business,such as by correlating the GPS location with the merchant's locationusing a mapping service such as Google Maps®. As another alternative,the mobile device can communicate using a wireless local area network(WLAN) of a merchant, and can determine based on the WLAN that themobile device, as well as the magnetic stripe card, is at a place ofbusiness of the merchant. For example, the mobile device can determinethat a Wi-Fi network, one example of a WLAN, operated by Starbucks® isavailable, and can thereby determine that the mobile device, as well asthe magnetic stripe card, are at Starbucks. Examples of WLANs includethe various types of IEEE 802.11 networks.

In each of the above examples, once the mobile device determines itslocation, it can wirelessly communicate the location information to themagnetic stripe card, such as via BLE, NFC, WiFi or cellular wirelesscommunication. As the above discussions indicate, there are a multitudeof ways for a magnetic stripe card, a mobile device, or a computersystem to obtain location information that indicates the location of themagnetic stripe card.

Next, at step 1210, the circuitry obtains time information indicating atime. The time information can be from any of various sources, such as aclock circuit of an integrated circuit, such as integrated circuit 1320,a transmission from a POS system, a transmission from a GPS transmitter,a transmission from a WLAN, etc. The time information can take any ofvarious forms. For example, the time information can be a number ofseconds or minutes elapsed from a reference time, and the indicated timecan be calculated by adding the elapsed number of seconds or minutes tothe reference time. The time can be the current time of day, and thetime can include a calendar date, among others. For example, the timecan be 2:30 pm, or the time can be 2:30 pm on Jan. 1, 2014.

Next, at step 1215, the circuitry accesses stored associationinformation representing an association between the magnetic stripe cardand multiple cards. Prior to step 1215, a computer system such as amobile device can have been used to associate the account data for themultiple cards with the magnetic stripe card. The description of FIG. 10discusses how the magnetic stripe card can be associated with multiplecards. The circuitry, for example, accesses association informationstored in a memory, such as non-volatile memory 1325 or some otherstorage device, and determines that the magnetic stripe card isassociated with the credit card, the debit card, the gift card, and thedriver's license discussed in the description of step 1205.

Next, at step 1220, the circuitry selects account data associated with afirst card or a first account based on a criterion. The selection of theaccount data associated with the first card/account can be based on, forexample, a policy, as is discussed related to step 725 of FIG. 7, arandom selection, an indicated time, an indicated location, an indicatedlocation of the magnetic stripe card, the last card selected, anindication of cards that are accepted by a merchant, an indication thata card is contextually relevant, etc. The selection of the first cardcan be based on contextually relevant data, such as an indication of thelocation of the magnetic stripe card and/or an indication of the time(e.g., the time determined step 1210), which can be an indication of atime of use of the magnetic stripe card. The selection of the first cardcan be based on a transaction associated with the magnetic stripe card,such as being based on data that is contextually relevant to thetransaction. Examples of selecting the first card based on data that iscontextually relevant to the transaction include selecting the firstcard based on an indication of the location of the magnetic stripe cardin association with the transaction, based on an indication of the timein association with the transaction, based on an indication of an itemassociated with the transaction, etc.

As a first example of selecting the first card based in the indicatedlocation of the magnetic stripe card, the circuitry can select a VISAcredit card payment account when the location information indicates thatthe magnetic stripe card is at a merchant that only accepts VISA creditcards. As another example, the circuitry can select a gift card paymentaccount when the location information indicates that the magnetic stripecard is at a merchant that accepts the gift card. As yet anotherexample, the circuitry can select a payment card that provides for adiscount when used at a grocery store when the location informationindicates that the magnetic stripe card is at a merchant having an MCCcode value that indicates that the merchant is a grocer. As stillanother example, the circuitry can select a payment card that thecustomer prefers to use when traveling, such as a payment card providedby the customer's employer, or a card that the customer indicated to usewhile traveling.

As an example of selecting the first card based on the indicated time,when the indicated time is between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm, the magneticstripe card selects account data for a particular card that provides fora discount when used for a purchase between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm. Asanother example, a consumer purchases airline tickets and makes a hotelreservation indicating that the consumer will be traveling between 7:00am on Jan. 1, 2014 and 8:00 pm on Jan. 3, 2014. When the indicated timeis 2:00 pm on Jan. 2, 2014, the magnetic stripe card selects accountdata for a particular card that the consumer uses when traveling. As anexample of selecting the first card based on both the indicated locationof the magnetic stripe card and the indicated time, a consumer purchasesairline tickets and makes a hotel reservation indicating that he will bechecking into a particular hotel between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm on Jan. 1,2014. When the indicated time is noon on Jan. 1, 2014, and the indicatedlocation of the magnetic stripe card is the particular hotel, themagnetic stripe card selects card/account data for the driver's licenseto use to check in to the hotel. Alternately, circuitry in a computersystem, such as a mobile device, can select card/account data of thefirst card to use based on the location information.

As examples of selecting the first card based on an item associated withthe transaction, when the transaction involves purchasing an airlineticket or gasoline, a first card that provides for a discount when usedfor airline ticket purchases or for gasoline purchases can be selected.As another set of examples, when the transaction involves purchasing anairline ticket from an airline or a coffee from a particular merchant, aloyalty program account that provides loyalty program credits/pointswhen used to purchase the airline ticket from the airline, or the coffeefrom the particular merchant, can be selected.

Next, at step 1225, the circuitry selects account data associated with asecond card or a second account based on a criterion. The criterion canbe any of the criteria discussed above or a different criterion.Further, the criterion can be the same as the criterion of step 1220 orcan be different. Alternately, circuitry in a computer system, such as amobile device, select the account data of the second card. Usingtechniques similar to those described above, the circuitry can selectthe account data for both the first and the second cards to use. Whenthe circuitry is in, for example, the mobile device, the mobile devicecan wirelessly send account data for both the first and the second cardsto the magnetic stripe card. The magnetic stripe card can select theaccount data for the first and second cards based on the mobile device'sselection of the account data for the first and the second cards, whichwas based on criteria, such as the location information indicating thelocation of the magnetic stripe card, or the time.

Next, at step 1230, the circuitry sends at least one signal to cause themagnetic stripe area of the magnetic stripe card to be encoded with theaccount data of the first card. The magnetic stripe card of this exampleincludes a magnetic stripe emulator, and the circuitry causes themagnetic stripe emulator to be encoded with the account data of thefirst card.

In some embodiments, magnetic stripe area 1310 includes three tracks,designated as “track 1” 1330, “track 2” 1335, and “track 3” 1340. Manypayment cards, such as credit cards or debit cards, have a magneticstripe that includes two tracks, such as a magnetic stripe that includestrack 1 1330 and track 2 1335. Other cards have a magnetic stripe thatincludes three tracks, as does magnetic stripe card 1300 illustrated inFIG. 13. Many card readers are able to read a magnetic stripe thatincludes three tracks, and in cases where the payment card includes amagnetic stripe with only two tracks, the card reader's ability to reada third track is unused. When magnetic stripe card 1300 is encoded withaccount data of a payment card that uses two tracks, the account data ofthe payment card can be encoded in track 1 1330 and track 2 1335. Track3 1340 of magnetic stripe card 1300 may be unused and devoid of validdata in such a situation.

Next, at step 1235, the circuitry sends at least one signal to cause themagnetic stripe area of the magnetic stripe card to be encoded with theaccount data of the second card. The circuitry causes the magneticstripe emulator to be encoded with the account data of the second card,such that the magnetic stripe emulator has encoded account data of boththe first and the second cards at the same time. For example, theaccount data of the first card can be encoded in track 1 1330 and track2 1335, and the account data of the second card can be encoded in track3 1340, With the magnetic stripe card encoded with account data fromboth the first card and the second card, the card reader can read theaccount data of both the first and second cards from the magnetic stripeof the magnetic stripe card with a single swipe of the magnetic stripecard through the card reader.

In one illustrative use case, a consumer purchases groceries at a localgrocer that issues loyalty cards to customers. In the past, when thecustomer made a purchase, the customer first swiped the loyalty cardthrough the card reader, and then swiped a credit or debit card throughthe reader. Using the magnetic stripe card of this example, the magneticstripe card first selects a payment card based on a criterion, such asselecting a credit or debit card having access to sufficient funds touse for the purchase. Based on the magnetic stripe card being at thegrocer, the magnetic stripe card selects the loyalty card issued by thegrocer and encodes the magnetic stripe emulator with account data ofboth the payment card and the loyalty card. With just one swipe of themagnetic stripe card through the grocer's card reader, therefore, thecard reader is able to read account data for both the payment card andthe loyalty card to use for the grocery purchase.

In the second example of FIG. 12, the operations are performed by acomputer system, such as a mobile device. The operations can beperformed by a processor, an integrated circuit, or other circuitry ofthe mobile device. The second example of the method of FIG. 12 begins atstep 1205 with the mobile device obtaining location information, such asinformation indicating the location of the magnetic stripe card. Themobile device can obtain the location information using techniquessimilar to those described above related to step 1205. Next, at step1210 the mobile device obtains time information indicating a time. Themobile device can obtain the time information using techniques similarto those discussed above related to step 1210. Next, at step 1215, themobile device accesses stored association information representing anassociation between the magnetic stripe card and multiple cards. Theassociation information can be stored in a memory of the mobile device,or on some other storage device accessible to the mobile device, and canserver the same purposes as described above related to step 1215.

Next. at step 1220 the mobile device selects account data associatedwith a first card or a first account based on a criterion. The mobiledevice can select the account data of the first card using techniquessimilar to those described above related to step 1220, with the mobiledevice rather than the circuitry of the magnetic stripe card performingthe techniques. Next. at step 1225 the mobile device selects accountdata associated with a second card or a second account based on acriterion. The mobile device can select the account data of the secondcard using techniques similar to those described above related to step1225, with the mobile device rather than the circuitry of the magneticstripe card performing the technique.

Next, at step 1230, the mobile device sends at least one signal ormessage to cause the magnetic stripe area of the magnetic stripe card tobe encoded with the account data of the first card. For example, thecircuitry sends a message via BLE, WiFi, NFC or a cellular network thatis received by communications interface 1340, and that causes magneticstripe emulator 1310 to be encoded with the account data of the firstcard. The mobile device can send the at least one signal usingtechniques similar to those described above related to step 1230, withthe mobile device rather than the circuitry of the magnetic stripe cardperforming the techniques. Next, at step 1235, the mobile device sendsat least one signal or message to cause the magnetic stripe area of themagnetic stripe card to be encoded with the account data of the secondcard. The mobile device can send the at least one signal usingtechniques similar to those described above related to step 1230, withthe mobile device rather than the circuitry of the magnetic stripe cardperforming the techniques.

In the third example of FIG. 12, the operations are performed by acomputer system other than a mobile device, such as via a processor, anintegrated circuit, or other circuitry of the computer system. Thecomputer system can be located remotely from the magnetic stripe card atthe time when the steps of the process of FIG. 12 are being performed.The third example of the process of FIG. 12 begins at step 1205 with thecomputer system obtaining location information, such as informationindicating the location of the magnetic stripe card. The computer systemcan obtain the location information using techniques similar to thosedescribed above related to step 1205. As a first example, the locationinformation can be obtained by receiving an MCC code from a POS systemsent as part of processing a purchase transaction initiated using themagnetic stripe card. As another example, the location information canbe a code sent by the POS system, as part of processing a purchasetransaction initiated using the magnetic stripe card, that identifiesthe merchant. As another example, the magnetic stripe card or the mobiledevice of the above two examples of FIG. 12 can obtain locationinformation in any of the ways discussed above, and can relay thelocation information to the computer system.

Further, when the computer system processes payment transactionsinitiated using the magnetic stripe card, the computer system can obtainlocation information in association with processing the transactions.For example, the computer system can receive purchase transactioninformation for a round trip flight to a destination that leaves on acertain date and returns on a later date. The computer system can later,during the dates of the trip, receive a message from a POS systemassociated with a purchase transaction initiated using the magneticstripe card. The transaction information can indicate that the magneticstripe card is being used a Walmart, and the computer system, based onthe flight information, can determine which Walmart store the magneticstripe card is at based on the destination of the flight.

Next, at step 1210, the computer system obtains time informationindicating a time. The computer system can obtain the time informationusing techniques similar to those described above related to step 1210.Next, at step 1215, the computer system accesses stored associationinformation representing an association between the magnetic stripecards and multiple cards. For example, the computer system accessassociation information stored in a memory or some other accessiblestorage device containing a database that links card data of themagnetic stripe card with account data of the multiple cards. Next, atstep 1220, the computer system selects account data associated with afirst card or a first account based on a criterion. The computer systemcan select the account data of the first card using techniques similarto those described above related to step 1220, with the computer systemrather than the circuitry of the magnetic stripe card performing thetechnique. Next. at step 1225 the computer system selects account dataassociated with a second card or a second account based on a criterion.The computer system can select the account data of the second card usingtechniques similar to those described above related to step 1225, withthe computer system rather than the circuitry of the magnetic stripecard performing the technique.

Next, at step 1230, the computer system sends at least one signal ormessage to cause the magnetic stripe area of the magnetic stripe card tobe encoded with the account data of the first card. For example, thecomputer system sends a message via a cellular network that is receivedby communications interface 1340, and that causes magnetic stripeemulator 1310 to be encoded with the account data of the first card. Asa second example, the computer system sends a message via a cellularnetwork to the mobile device, and the mobile device sends the messagevia short range wireless communication to the magnetic stripe card. As athird example, the computer system sends a message via a network to aPOS system of the merchant, and the POS system sends the message viashort range wireless communication to the magnetic stripe card.

Next, at step 1235, the mobile device sends at least one signal ormessage to cause the magnetic stripe area of the magnetic stripe card tobe encoded with the account data of the second card. The mobile devicecan send the at least one signal or message using techniques similar tothose described above related to step 1230 of this example.

FIG. 13 is an illustration of a magnetic stripe card that includes amagnetic stripe emulator. Magnetic stripe card 1300 of this example is apayment card, and can be a proxy card. Magnetic stripe card 1300includes substantially flat substrate 1305, on which is affixed or inwhich is embedded magnetic stripe emulator 1310, integrated circuit 1320containing processor 1315, non-volatile memory 1325, and communicationinterface 1340. In some embodiments, any of processor 1315, non-volatilememory 1325, and/or communications interface 1340 are discretecomponents. In some embodiments, magnetic stripe card 1300 includes GPSreceiver 1365 and/or display 1345. GPS receiver 1365 can be a discretecomponent or can be integrated in integrated circuit 1320. Substrate1305 can be made of the same or similar material as any ordinary creditcard, such as plastic. Integrated circuit 1320, processor 1315,non-volatile memory 1325, and communications interface 1340 arerespectively similar to integrated circuit 1120, processor 1115,non-volatile memory 1125, and communications interface 1140 of FIG. 11.In some embodiments, magnetic stripe area 1370 includes three datatracks, track 1 1330, track 2 1335, and track 3 1340.

In some embodiments, magnetic stripe emulator 1310 emulates the magneticstripe of a payment card, such as a credit card. When emulating somepayment cards, track 1 1330 includes the name (e.g. “NAME” in FIG. 13)of the card holder, the PAN (Primary Account Number) of the creditaccount of the card holder, the CVV1 (Card Verification Value 1, alsoreferred to as CVC1 or Card Verification Code 1) of the card, and theExpiration date (EXP) of the card. For some payment cards, the PAN,CVV1, and EXP are repeated on track 2 1335. Display 1345 can be used todisplay various items, such as CVV2 (Card Verification Value 2, alsoreferred to as CVC2 or Card Verification Code 2), the name of thecurrently selected card (e.g. the name as indicated by the card holder),etc. A payment card that includes a magnetic stripe emulator can havevarious other configurations.

FIG. 14 is a high-level block diagram showing an example of a processingdevice 1400 that can represent any of the devices described above, suchas POS system 158, computer system 170, proxy card 1100, magnetic stripecard 1300, or the mobile devices referred to in the descriptions ofFIGS. 9 and 12. Any of these systems may include two or more processingdevices such as represented in FIG. 14, which may be coupled to eachother via a network or multiple networks.

In the illustrated embodiment, the processing system 1400 includes oneor more processors 1410, memory 1411, a communication device 1412, andone or more input/output (I/O) devices 1413, all coupled to each otherthrough an interconnect 1414. In some embodiments, the processing system1400 may not have any I/O devices 1413. The interconnect 1414 may be orinclude one or more conductive traces, buses, point-to-pointconnections, controllers, adapters and/or other conventional connectiondevices. The processor(s) 1410 may be or include, for example, one ormore general-purpose programmable microprocessors, microcontrollers,application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable gatearrays, or the like, or a combination of such devices. The processor(s)1410 control the overall operation of the processing device 1400. Memory1411 may be or include one or more physical storage devices, which maybe in the form of random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM)(which may be erasable and programmable), non-volatile memory such asflash memory, miniature hard disk drive, or other suitable type ofstorage device, or a combination of such devices. Memory 1411 may storedata and instructions that configure the processor(s) 1410 to executeoperations in accordance with the techniques described above. Thecommunication device 1412 may be or include, for example, an Ethernetadapter, cable modem, Wi-Fi adapter, cellular transceiver, Bluetoothtransceiver, or the like, or a combination thereof. Depending on thespecific nature and purpose of the processing device 1400, the I/Odevices 1413 can include devices such as a display (which may be a touchscreen display), audio speaker, keyboard, mouse or other pointingdevice, microphone, camera, etc.

Unless contrary to physical possibility, it is envisioned that (i) themethods/steps described above may be performed in any sequence and/or inany combination, and that (ii) the components of respective embodimentsmay be combined in any manner.

The techniques introduced above can be implemented by programmablecircuitry programmed/configured by software and/or firmware, or entirelyby special-purpose circuitry, or by a combination of such forms. Suchspecial-purpose circuitry (if any) can be in the form of, for example,one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs),programmable logic devices (PLDs), field-programmable gate arrays(FPGAs), etc.

Software or firmware for use in implementing the techniques introducedhere may be stored on a machine-readable storage medium and may beexecuted by one or more general-purpose or special-purpose programmablemicroprocessors. A “machine-readable medium”, as the term is usedherein, includes any mechanism that can store information in a formaccessible by a machine (a machine may be, for example, a computer,network device, cellular phone, personal digital assistant (PDA),manufacturing tool, any device with one or more processors, etc.). Forexample, a machine-accessible medium includes recordable/non-recordablemedia (e.g., read-only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM);magnetic disk storage media; optical storage media; flash memorydevices; etc.), etc.

Although the present invention has been described with reference tospecific exemplary embodiments, it will be recognized that the inventionis not limited to the embodiments described, but can be practiced withmodification and alteration within the spirit and scope of the appendedclaims. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regardedin an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by apayment card, a wireless transmission that includes an indication of alocation of the payment card relative to a geo-fence, the payment cardbeing associated with account data associated with a plurality of cardsincluding any two or more of a credit card, a debit card, an automatedteller machine (ATM) card, a stored value card, a loyalty program card,a library card, or an identification card, the payment card including amagnetic stripe area that can be read by a magnetic stripe card readerassociated with a point-of-sale (POS) system of a merchant, the magneticstripe area having three parallel data tracks including a first datatrack, a second data track, and a third data track, the first data trackbeing adjacent to the second data track, and the second data track beingadjacent to the third data track; sending, by the payment card, at leastone signal, to cause the account data associated with a first card ofthe plurality of cards to be applied to the first data track and thesecond data track, and to enable the payment card to initiate a paymentbased on an account associated with the first card; selecting, by thepayment card and based on the indication of the location of the paymentcard relative to the geo-fence, account data of a second account to usein association with the financial transaction; and sending, by thepayment card, at least one signal to cause information associated withthe second account to be applied to the third data track of the magneticstripe area, the magnetic stripe area having the account data associatedwith the first card and the information associated with the secondaccount at a same time.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the indicationof the location of the payment card relative to the geo-fence furtherindicates that the payment card is at a place of business of themerchant, wherein the loyalty program card is associated with a loyaltyprogram that provides rewards points when the loyalty program card isused in association with a transaction involving the merchant, whereinselecting the account data of the second account includes selecting,based on the indication that the payment card is at the place ofbusiness of the merchant, the account data of the loyalty program card,and wherein sending the at least one signal to cause the informationassociated with the second account to be applied to the third data trackincludes sending the at least one signal to cause the informationassociated with the loyalty program card to be applied to the magneticstripe area.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the payment card isassociated with account data of a first credit card that is accepted bythe merchant and further is associated with account data of a secondcredit card that is not accepted by the merchant, the method furthercomprising: selecting, by the payment card, the account data of thefirst credit card based on the indication that the payment card is atthe place of business of the merchant, wherein sending the at least onesignal to cause the account data associated with the first card of theplurality of cards to be applied to the first data track and the seconddata track includes sending the at least one signal to cause the accountdata associated with the first credit card to be applied to the firstdata track and the second data track.
 4. A method comprising: selecting,by circuitry, account data associated with a first account, to beapplied to a magnetic stripe area of a magnetic stripe card; selecting,by the circuitry, account data associated with a second account, basedon an indicated location of the magnetic stripe card relative to ageo-fence, to be applied to the magnetic stripe area of the magneticstripe card; and sending at least one signal to cause the account dataassociated with the first account and the account data associated withthe second account to be applied to the magnetic stripe area of themagnetic stripe card, such that after being so applied the magneticstripe area of the magnetic stripe card has the account data associatedwith the first account and the account data associated with the secondaccount.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the causing the account dataassociated with the first account and the account data associated withthe second account to be applied to the magnetic stripe area of themagnetic stripe card includes causing the account data associated withthe first account and the account data associated with the secondaccount to be applied to the magnetic stripe area of the magnetic stripecard such that the account data associated with the first account andthe account data associated with the second account both can be readfrom the magnetic stripe area of the magnetic stripe card by a cardreader in a single card read event.
 6. The method of claim 4, whereinthe first account is associated with a payment card of a payer, whereinthe selection of the account data associated with the first accountincludes selecting the account data associated with the first account touse for a financial transaction involving the payer, wherein thecircuitry is in a mobile device of the payer, and wherein the sending ofthe at least one signal includes the mobile device sending the at leastone signal.
 7. The method of claim 4, wherein the first account isassociated with a payment card of a payer, wherein the selection of theaccount data associated with the first account includes selecting theaccount data associated with the first account to use for a financialtransaction involving the payer, wherein the circuitry is affixed to orembedded in the magnetic stripe card, and wherein the sending of thesignal includes the magnetic stripe card sending the signal.
 8. Themethod of claim 4, wherein the circuitry is in a computer system, andthe sending of the signal includes the computer system sending thesignal, the method further comprising: accessing, by the computersystem, stored association information representing an associationbetween the magnetic stripe card and a plurality of accounts, theplurality of accounts including the first account, wherein the selectionof the account data associated with the first account is based on theassociation information.
 9. The method of claim 4, wherein the secondaccount is associated with a payment card of a payer and the magneticstripe card is a payment card of the payer, wherein the selection of theaccount data of the second account includes selecting the account dataof the second account to use for a financial transaction involving thepayer, the method further comprising: obtaining an indication that themagnetic stripe card is at a place of business of a merchant, wherebythe magnetic stripe card being at the place of business of the merchantindicates that the magnetic stripe card may be used for the financialtransaction, wherein the selection of the account data of the secondaccount includes selecting the account data of the second account basedon the indication that the magnetic stripe card is at the place ofbusiness of the merchant.
 10. The method of claim 4, further comprising:obtaining an indication of a time of use of the magnetic stripe card,wherein the selection of the account data associated with the secondaccount includes selecting the account data associated with the secondaccount based on the indicated time of use of the magnetic stripe card.11. The method of claim 4, wherein the circuitry is in a remote computersystem that is located remotely from the magnetic stripe card when theat least one signal is sent, and the sending of the signal includes thecomputer system sending the signal, the method further comprising:receiving, by the computer system, card data of the magnetic stripe cardprior to the selection of either the account data associated with thefirst account or the account data associated with the second account;and accessing, based on the card data, stored association informationrepresenting an association between the magnetic stripe card and aplurality of accounts, the plurality of accounts including the firstaccount, wherein the selection of the account data associated with thefirst account is based on the association information.
 12. The method ofclaim 4, wherein the selection of the account data associated with thefirst account includes selecting the account data associated with thefirst account based on any of a location of the magnetic stripe card, atime at the location of the magnetic stripe card, an identity of thefirst account, or an item associated with a financial transactioninvolving a payment based on the magnetic stripe card.
 13. The method ofclaim 4, further comprising: obtaining an indication of a time of use ofthe magnetic stripe card, wherein the selection of the account dataassociated with the second account includes selecting the account dataassociated with the second account based on the indicated time of use ofthe magnetic stripe card.
 14. The method of claim 4, wherein selectingthe account data associated with the second account includes selectingthe account data associated with the second account based on a contextof the transaction.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein selecting theaccount data associated with the second account includes selecting theaccount data associated with the second account based on any of anindicated time, or an identity of the first account, or an itemassociated with a financial transaction involving a payment based on themagnetic stripe card.
 16. A system comprising: a processor; acommunication interface coupled to the processor, through which tocommunicate over a network with remote devices; and a memory coupled tothe processor, the memory storing instructions which when executed bythe processor cause the system to perform operations including:receiving card data of a magnetic stripe card; accessing, based on thecard data, stored association information representing an associationbetween the magnetic stripe card and a plurality of cards, the pluralityof cards including a first card; based on the association information,selecting account data associated with the first card, to be applied toa magnetic stripe area of the magnetic stripe card; selecting accountdata associated with a second account based on any of an indication of alocation of the magnetic stripe card relative to a geo-fence, or anindicated time, the account data associated with the second account tobe applied to the magnetic stripe area of the magnetic stripe card; andsending at least one message to cause the account data associated withthe first card and the account data associated with the second accountto be applied to the magnetic stripe area of the magnetic stripe card,such that after being so applied the magnetic stripe area has theaccount data associated with the first card and the account dataassociated with the second account.
 17. The system of claim 16, whereinthe first card and the magnetic stripe card are payment cards of apayer, wherein the selection of the account data associated with thefirst card includes selecting the account data associated with the firstcard to use for a financial transaction involving the payer, and whereinthe system is a mobile device of the payer.
 18. The system of claim 16,wherein the second account is associated with a payment card of a payerand the magnetic stripe card is a payment card of the payer, wherein theselection of the account data associated with the second accountincludes selecting the account data associated with the second accountto use for a financial transaction involving the payer and a merchant,wherein the operations further include: receiving the indication of thelocation of the magnetic stripe card relative to the geo-fence, whereinthe indication of the location of the magnetic stripe card relative tothe geo-fence further indicates that the magnetic stripe card is at aplace of business of the merchant, and wherein the selection of theaccount data associated with the second account includes selecting theaccount data associated with the second account based on the indicationthat the magnetic stripe card is at the place of business of themerchant.
 19. A magnetic stripe card comprising: a substantially flatsubstrate, a processor coupled to the substrate; a magnetic stripeemulator coupled to the processor; a communication interface coupled tothe processor, through which to communicate over a network with remotedevices; a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storinginstructions which when executed by the processor cause the magneticstripe card to perform operations including: accessing storedassociation information representing an association between the magneticstripe card and a plurality of cards, the plurality of cards including afirst card; selecting, based on the association information, accountdata associated with the first card; selecting account data associatedwith a second account based on an indication of a location of themagnetic stripe card relative to a geo-fence; and sending at least onesignal to the magnetic stripe emulator to cause the account dataassociated with the first card and the account data associated with thesecond account to be applied to the magnetic stripe area of the magneticstripe card, such that after being so applied the magnetic stripe areahas the account data associated with the first card and the account dataassociated with the second card.
 20. The magnetic stripe card of claim19, wherein the magnetic stripe card is a first payment card of a payer,the second account is associated with a second payment card of thepayer, and the second payment card is further a stored value card validat a merchant, the operations further including: receiving an indicationthat the magnetic stripe card is located at the merchant, wherein theindication that the magnetic stripe card is located at the merchant isthe indication of the location of the magnetic stripe card relative tothe geo-fence.
 21. The magnetic stripe card of claim 19, wherein theoperations further include: receiving a signal that indicates thelocation of the magnetic stripe card relative to the geo-fence, whereinthe signal was received from any of a point of sale (POS) system viashort-range wireless transmission, a global positioning system (GPS)transmitter, a server via transmission over a wireless local areanetwork (WLAN), or a cellular network transceiver.
 22. The magneticstripe card of claim 19, further comprising: a GPS receiver coupled tothe processor.
 23. A method comprising: receiving, by a transactionprocessing system and from a point of sale (POS) system, objectinformation associated with a payment object of a payer, and transactioninformation associated with a financial transaction involving a paymentmade via the payment object, wherein the payment object is associatedwith a plurality of accounts, including a first account and a secondaccount, and wherein the transaction processing system receivesfinancial transactions from a plurality of merchants, and processes thefinancial transactions; selecting, by the transaction processing system,account data associated with the first account to use for the payment;selecting, by the transaction processing system, account data associatedwith the second account based on location information that indicates alocation of the payment object; transmitting, by the transactionprocessing system and to the POS system, information associated with thefirst account to use to obtain funds for the payment; and transmitting,by the transaction processing system and to the POS system, informationassociated with the second account to use in association with thefinancial transaction.
 24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:accessing, by the transaction processing system, stored associationinformation representing an association between the payment object and aplurality of financial accounts of the payer, wherein the selection ofthe account data associated with the first account includes selectingthe account data associated with the first account based on theassociation information.
 25. The method of claim 23, wherein theselection of the account data associated with the first account includesselecting the account data associated with the first account based on aselection made by the payer, the method further comprising: causing, bythe transaction processing system, information associated with theplurality of financial accounts to be displayed on a mobile deviceassociated with the payer to facilitate a selection to be made by thepayer; and receiving an indication, by the transaction processingsystem, of the selection made by the payer using the mobile device. 26.The method of claim 23, wherein the financial transaction involves thepayer and a payee, and wherein transmitting the information associatedwith the second account to use in association with the financialtransaction includes transmitting the information associated with thesecond account to use in association with a loyalty program thatprovides loyalty program credits when used in association with financialtransactions that include the payee.